Until The Very End
by IllusionaryEscapement
Summary: The story of Lily and James; From newly-weds, until the very end...
1. Tiny Quidditch Uniform

**Disclaimer: Anything amazing on here is all due to the one and only J.K Rowling!  
>The beginning of a series of one-shots from the life of Lily and James!<br>If you enjoy it...even if you don't.. Please R&R and tell me how I can improve!**

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><p>Lily absentmindedly drummed her fingers on the dining-table. She was staring at the same page of '<em>The Evening Prophet<em>' that she had been on for the last quarter of an hour, her bright green eyes glassy and unfocused. A small smile danced across her lips as she brought herself back into reality. Blinking, she refocused on real-estate section of the paper she had been studying over the evening. She had been looking at houses to buy with James for the last few months since the wedding, but their small apartment in London was perfect for the two of them, so they were in no rush... Well... they _hadn't_ been in a rush.

Lily smiled again as she dragged her eyes around the page of moving advertisements to see if there were any she'd missed. She had been thoroughly searching the paper for the last three days, since she got the news, but so far the only place that looked promising was a cottage in Godric's Hollow. Lily had fallen in love with its thatched roof, the Ivy climbing slowly up the walls and the pretty little hedge that ran around its borders. She could easily imagine herself and James living there, watching him play Quidditch with the Marauders in the summer, cuddling by the open fireplace in the winter... She just had to get him to agree first.

Thinking about her husband caused Lily to glance anxiously at the clock. James wasn't due home for another hour; he had been away with work for the last five days. Lily hated it when he went away... They were living in dark times and she wouldn't be satisfied until she saw him walk safely through the door. Thinking about James' return caused excited butterflies to dance in her stomach, and Lily gently laid a hand on her abdomen. She couldn't wait to see his face when she told him...

She sighed and let her head rest on her arms on the table...She could never sleep properly when James wasn't there...she would just close her eyes for a second...

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><p>What seemed like ten seconds later, Lily was woken by the sound of the front door clicking open, and she heard her favourite sound in the world.<p>

"Lils?" a low voice called. "I'm home!"

All traces of sleepiness forgotten, Lily launched herself out of the chair and ran down the hallway. She couldn't stop her smile stretching from ear to ear when she saw him, clothes ruffled, jet black hair messier than ever, hazel eyes shining from behind his glasses that were almost falling off his nose...windswept, but safe...completely safe.

James looked up, his smile growing equally as large as Lily's when he saw her rushing towards him. Without pausing for a second, Lily launched herself into her husband's waiting arms, and laughing, he picked her up and swung her around.

"I missed you", Lily whispered in his ear when they stopped spinning, and she pulled him even closer, filling the space in her heart that had been missing for the last week. They stood like that for a moment, and then James traced his fingers down her cheek, turning her chin up so he could look into her beautiful emerald eyes.

"I love you", he said, and not breaking eye contact, he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently.

Then, eyes gleaming, her lifted her up and spun her around again, their laughter bouncing through the apartment.

Still smiling, they walked hand in hand back down to the kitchen as they filled each other in on everything they had been doing for the last few days. The butterflies started in Lily's stomach again as she looked at the parcel she had left on the table, and so that James didn't see the expression on her face, she quickly busied herself getting his dinner ready.

"... I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it myself...Wilkies, a Death Eater?" said James, throwing himself down into his seat at the table. "It just keeps getting worse, no one knows who to trust anymore and... What's this?"

Lily couldn't look at James, and suddenly she was gripped with fear. What if this had been a bad idea? Should she have told him a different way? They'd talked about wanting this, but they'd always said later, when it was safer...what if he was angry? Her heart raced as she heard him ripping the paper off the parcel. There was a second of silence before James said in a strained voice that sounded nothing like his own,

"Lily? What... I... What _is_ this?"

Taking a deep breath, Lily turned slowly around. James was pale as he looked up to meet his wife's eyes, bewilderment etched on to his face. He gestured again to the tiny Quidditch uniform he was now holding, his eyes filled with questions, his expression unreadable.

Lily gripped the bench and tried to steady her heart as she said breathlessly,

"Surprise!"

James continued to stare blankly, his eyes glazed over. In the same strange, strained tone, he said

"You...this...are you...?"

Lily bit down on her lip and nodded, her long red hair falling free from its clip and tumbling over her face, obscuring her view of her husband.

She jumped when she felt James' strong hands on her shoulders, and stared at him almost guiltily as he gently pushed her hair off her face.

"Lils... are you pregnant?"

She didn't have to say anything; the look in her eyes answered his question. Suddenly, Lily felt the ground disappear from underneath her as James swept her off her feet and spun her around. Their eyes met, and all of Lily's fears instantly vanished when she saw the look of utter elation on her husband's face.

"We're going to have a baby! We're going to be parents! I'm going to be a dad!"

His look of maniacal ecstasy was contagious, and Lily found herself laughing loudly as he continued to spin them around. His grin was still blinding when he finally set Lily down on her feet, and a look of wonder crossed his eyes as he stared into hers, realisation setting in.

"So...so you're happy?" Lily asked hesitantly. "I wasn't sure how to tell you, I didn't know how you'd react, I know we've always said we wanted to have kids, but it was always later, always when it was safer, and I didn't know how you'd feel and.."  
>James silenced her by planting a prolonged kiss on her lips.<p>

When they broke apart, James continued to stroke Lily's face, and looking deep into her eyes he said,

"Lily Potter. I can honestly tell you that I have never been this happy in my life...except maybe the day you said "I do".

Lily beamed at him, but a thought was still nagging at her.

"It's not safe James, our world. It's not safe for a baby."

James just continued to stare at Lily, and to her surprise she noticed his eyes gleaming with tears. He took a deep breath and said,

"I know beautiful, I know. The thing is...I don't know when, or _if_ any of us will ever be truly safe again... and that's scary. But we have a choice. We can sit around and do nothing...We can hide, we can live in constant fear as a shell of our former selves...Or we can keep going. We can live, and laugh and keep making amazing memories. We still have _life_, which is more than we can say for some...and I feel like we owe it to the people we've lost to keep going. They gave their lives so that people like us could keep going...they gave their lives so that we could bring a new one into the world..."

The tears were flowing thick and fast from her eyes as she gazed at her husband. This side of James, the sensitive, compassionate and vulnerable side, was not one that she saw much, but it made her love him even more until it felt like her heart was swelling to the point where it would burst.

"He will make an _incredible_ father", she thought to herself.

"...Besides", James continued, "our baby will have us...and we'll protect our little boy or girl..._until the very end_".

Lily's head was suddenly filled with images... watching James rock a tiny bundle to sleep, laughter filling their home, first words, first steps, a cake with a single candle on it...and she found that her hear was swelling with a new kind of love, a kind that she never knew she could feel.

"We'll be ok, Lils".

Looking up at her husband, she knew he was right and a smile so big it hurt stretched itself across her face. James laughed, kissed her passionately again, and suddenly jumped and started bustling around the room. Lily laughed at the animated actions of her husband as he rushed over to the empty fire place and pulled out his wand. When the fire was roaring, James leant across and took a handful of the glittering powder sitting on the fire place.

"You only just got home!" Lily laughed. "Where are you going?"

James' eyes lit up as he grinned at his wife and stepped into the flames.

'I have to tell Padfoot!" he said, and with a whooping laugh, James spun out of sight.


	2. Family Bonding

**Second Chapter, hope you enjoy it :)  
><strong>**Pretty please R&R?  
><strong>

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><p><strong><strong>"This was a _very_ bad idea..." James grumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time, as they pulled into the car park of the muggle restaurant.

Lily didn't bother with a response.

"...and I still don't understand why we couldn't have just apparated here!" he said, eyeing the keys Lily was pulling from the ignition with unhappy distrust. "What happens if we need to make a quick getaway?"

Lily sighed. Besides the fact that her morning-but-actually-whole-day-sickness turned her skin green at merely the thought of apparation, she was hoping to keep this encounter as 'normal' as possible.  
>"We won't need to make a quick getaway."<p>

James shot his wife an incredulous look.

"Are you already suffering from baby brains? Has morning sickness affected your memory? It must have, because I remember _vividly_ the first...and last, time we were under the same roof as your sister and her husband. Things did not end satisfactorily, to say the least".

The sounds of raised voice, braking glass and crying echoed in Lily's head. She looked at her husband, green eyes sad.

"You told me you'd make an effort, James".

James couldn't bear to see Lily sad, and so, with a martyr like smile, he held out his hand and said,  
>"Best behaviour! Pinkie-swear".<p>

Unable to help herself, Lily smiled, and giggling softly, she linked her little finger with his.

"Besides," said Lily as they clambered out of their car, "I'm not doing this for _them._ I'm doing it for dad...he's still not handling loosing mum very well. I'd really love it if he could have _one_ family memory that didn't end in someone crying or breaking something. You know how important our news is ...and well...despite her feelings towards me, Petunia _is_ my big sister, and I want to share this with her. Is that so crazy?"

Lily looked so genuinely concerned for her sanity that James burst into laughter.

"It's completely bonkers..." he chortled, pulling her in for a hug and pressing a hand against her stomach, "...but it's so sweet and sincere that I'll humour you anyway".

Sighing slightly, Lily smiled tightly.

"Well... here goes nothing!"

They walked hand in hand into the restaurant, pausing only for a moment so James could check out the ATM in the entrance ("You type in a number and money comes out? Just like that? Why aren't all the muggles rich then?"), and then they were inside, and Lily scanned the tables nervously. Her eyes lit up when she spotted her father at a table in the corner, and her chest lightened with relief that he was alone...for the moment.

David Evans' eyes that were the exact same shade of green as his youngest daughters lit up when he saw her coming towards him.

"There's my Lily May! Come here sweetheart, it's been too long!"

Her father swept her up into a hug that had Lily's mind racing back to memories of teddy bears, night time stories and the feeling of absolute safety that only a hug from a father could bring. She felt her heart skip when she realised that in just a few months, James would be making these memories with their own child.

"Daddy," mumbled Lily into her father's shoulder, breathing in the earthy scent of leather and apple cider that belonged to him and him alone. "How're you doing?"

She stepped back to examine him, her critical eyes noticing his hollow cheeks, pale complexion and slightly stooped stance.  
>Just twelve months ago, David Evans had been full of life and youth. He'd been keeping his age well, the only person in his group of friends who still had all his hair... shockingly red hair at that. When her mother had died suddenly last year however, everything had changed, and it seemed that David had aged thirty years in the last ten months. He'd taken the death of his wife very badly, though he still kept the same twinkle in his eyes and the same warm smile on his face as he took in his daughter's appearance.<p>

"I'm soldiering on, as always Lils, you know me. You look fantastic though, positively radiant!"

Lily smiled as David caught sight of James over her shoulder.

"Aha! There's my son in law! Come here Potter!" and laughing, the two men threw themselves into a hard, one armed embrace.

Lily winced and mouthed "gently" to James from over her father's shoulder. James just laughed and said,

"It's good to see you Davey, it's been too long!"

Lily smiled happily at the men's playful banter. Her parents had always loved James, always welcomed him into their family with open arms... If only that could be said for all her relations.

No sooner had that thought sprung into her mind did she hear the loud and unmistakable complaints of a one Vernon Dursley, her brother in law.

".. Did you _see_ the size of the parking spaces out there, Petunia? How they expect anyone to be able to squeeze their cars into them I don't know! Absolutely preposterous, how hard is it to get adequate service these days?..."

The complaints were cut off sharply as the Dursleys spotted the congregation in the corner of the room. Lily took a deep breath and linked her fingers through James' for support. Her father, trying to keep things as pleasant as possible, made the first move.

"Vernon, Petunia dear... It's fantastic to see you both".

"And you Father", said Petunia, accepting her father's kiss on a bony cheek.

"Mr. Evans, I trust you are in good health?" said Vernon, holding out a beefy paw for him to shake.

Lily almost scoffed...a blind person could see that her father was _not_ in good health.

"Aah Vernon, one of these days I'll get you to call me David," he said, good naturedly clasping the other man's hand in his own.

There was an awkward moment of silence as David stepped back and left the two couples facing each other. Lily stepped forward, as if to hug her sister, but caught herself as Petunia took an automatic step backwards, almost knocking a tray laden with meals out of the hands of a passing waiter. Seeing her sisters flushed expression, Lily settled for a quiet,

"Hello".

James nodded his head courteously towards the pair, who rejected both greetings and continued to stare at the Potter's as if they were aliens from another planet.

Sensing the tension, David cleared his throat loudly.

"Why don't we all take a seat, no point in standing around. We have so much to catch up on; I can't remember the last time we were together like this!"

The sound of raised voices, breaking glasses and crying seemed to echo in Lily's head again. She remembered very well.

They all seated themselves at the table. David was at the head, Lily and James on his right, Petunia and Vernon on his left. Petunia was trying very hard not to look at her sister seated opposite her. Lily sighed quietly and glanced at James who was biting his lip in an effort not to laugh as he properly took in Vernon's appearance, canary yellow bow tie and all.

David kept talking, as if a moments silence could shatter the thin strand of civility that was balanced on the edge of a rocky cliff...which it probably could. Lily was grateful for his presence. They managed to order dinner and get through the entire main course without a single mishap. David did most of the talking, and when the conversation shifted to Vernon's work, it allowed a good half an hour of limited response from anyone else.

Lily subtly studied her sister as Petunia watched Vernon talk, hanging on to every word of his long monologue about the booming drill industry. They were so different in every way possible...they didn't even resemble each other. Lily had inherited her father's flaming red hair, jade coloured eyes and creamy skin, but her mother's soft, curvy figure and gentle facial features. Petunia had received their mother's blonde hair and blue eyes, but their father's skinny frame and sharp features. Anybody looking at them would have never picked them as sisters... But Lily could still remember the time when 'Tuney' had been her hero, the countless nights they spent telling secrets in the dark of their room, how despite the fact that their house was big enough for the girls to have their own room they would refuse to sleep apart, how they'd spend hours playing make believe games about the two sisters who entered a magical world... And then Lily _did_ enter a magical world, alone, and Petunia never forgave her.

The sadness must have been showing on Lily's face without her realising, because James grabbed her hand under the table and began to draw swirling patterns on her palm with his thumb, soothing her. She tried to relax...they'd managed to make it to desert now, and Lily felt a tiny ray of hope that perhaps, just this one time, things wouldn't end badly...That was until Vernon finished his spiel and turned on James.

"So, _Potter_, tell me. Have you been employed since we last met?"

Lily felt James' hand tense in her own. She began stroking his palm, trying to calm him as he had done her. James met her eye, and Lily saw the anger building there disperse. Keeping his eyes on Lily, James simply said,  
>"Nope," and continued to eat his chocolate pudding.<p>

Vernon let out a contemptuous snort and Lily felt her insides clench. What did _he _know anyway? Who did _he_ think he was? He knew nothing about them, about what James did. He had no idea that every day James went out and risked his life, working with the Order of the Phoenix so that ungrateful people like himself could be safe...and there was no point trying to tell him either. She didn't think Vernon would be particularly phased at the thought of James endangering his life anyway.

David had been eyeing the exchange nervously, and before James could retaliate, he piped up,  
>"Petunia, be a dear and get your father a drink...here take this and buy one for everybody, my shout."<p>

Petunia looked disgruntled at the idea of having to buy Lily and James anything, even if it wasn't her money, but nevertheless she got up and said,

"Vernon, come and help me", and the pair left without asking anyone else what they wanted.

Lily smiled at James and squeezed his hand tight, trying to thank him for being so patient. David patted Lily's other hand in sympathy and gave his daughter an understanding look.

"Oh!" Lily suddenly exclaimed, looking at James.

She'd almost forgotten the reason they were here in the first place, and now, while they had a moment alone with her father, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to say,

"Daddy? We have something to tell you, some news..."

A smile lit up James' face as he realised what they were about to do.

David looked at them curiously.

"I...we...well, Daddy, James and I are going to have a baby...I'm pregnant!"

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the table erupted.

David threw himself out of his chair with more energy than he'd had all year, and before they knew what was happening, he'd pulled Lily and James both up and was embracing them in a rough bear hug. When he stepped back, still holding on to both of them, Lily was astounded to see that he had tears in his eyes.

"Oh my Lily May...James! I'm so happy...So proud of you," he choked, voice thick with tears. Lily felt her own eyes watering too. "Heather- your mother...well, I know she's looking down on us right now, and I know she's ecstatic! Our little girl, our little girl is having a _baby_!"

Their happy laughter was silenced by the sound of shattering glass.

They all whipped around to see Petunia standing at the end of the table, the drinks she'd been carrying now in a pool of liquid and glass around her feet. Her body was rigid, and the vicious look in her eyes was frightening. Lily stepped forward, reaching out to her sister, but she was stopped when Petunia screeched,

"Don't come anyway near me you _freak_. Stay away!"

The entire restaurant was silent, all eyes on the scene unfolding in the corner, the happy bubble that had engulfed them just a minute before had burst into a thousand pieces.

"Petunia, what on earth is the problem?" asked David, stepping forwards, trying to pacify his eldest daughter.

"The problem? _The problem? THEY ARE THE PROBLEM!_"

Vernon had returned by this stage, and was standing to the side of his wife, his triple chins wobbling as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"Tuney," Lily pleaded, "please..."

"No!" Petunia cried, a sob racking through her body. "No you just keep away. You always have to ruin _everything_ don't you, miss _Perfect Princess Lily."_

Petunia was shaking as rage and tears flooded her body. Lily was rooted to the spot, completely bewildered by what was happening.

"Lily hasn't done anything wrong!" said James indignantly from Lily's side.

"Don't you dare speak to my wife, you good for nothing magician you..."

"James!" Lily cried, as she saw his hand move towards his wand pocket.

"Ok _everybody, _that is ENOUGH!" David panted with the effort of yelling.

"No, this is _not_ fair," said Petunia through a fresh wave of tears. "_You _can't be pregnant, because...because... I'm pregnant! This is why we came here tonight, so _we_ could tell father, and you...and you... _YOU JUST HAVE TO COME IN AND TAKE ALL THE LIMELIGHT AS USUAL!"_

Lily's mouth fell open in shock. Beside her, she saw her father move towards Petunia again.

"But...but Petunia! This is fantastic news! Amazing...my girls, sisters, having babies together and..."

"No." Said Petunia, straightening up and glaring at Lily with hate filled eyes.

"There is no _together_ in this...and as of this moment..._I have no sister!"_

Lily blanched, her voice trapped in her throat.

"Vernon? Come, we're leaving...I'll call you another day Father," and with nothing more than a final, sneering look, the Dursleys swept from the restaurant.

There was a second of deafening silence in the room, until the rest of the customers realised there was nothing left to see and the babble and hustle and bustle started up again.

"Lily? Lils?" James looked at her uncertainly. "Are you ok?"

Lily couldn't answer. She could not believe what had just happened. Petunia was pregnant...this should be something that sisters would share together...yet Petunia had almost _accused_ Lily of doing this deliberately to spite her... But how was Lily supposed to know, it wasn't like she'd been told and...

James took his wife by the shoulders and steered her towards the nearest chair.

"C'mon Lils, you need to sit down, take a breath..."

"James is right, Lily" said David in a concerned tone. "Being stressed isn't good for the baby."

Lily just stared at the two men, unable to speak. They let her sit for a while, until it started getting late, and Lily whispered to James that she just wanted to go home.

David embraced Lily for a long time. Lily breathed in his scent, and suddenly felt a little better.

"I'm sorry Daddy. I love you."

David smiled sadly.

"Don't apologise for anything Lils. You just worry about that baby of yours and leave the rest to us. I love you too".

They turned to leave the restaurant, but instead of heading towards the car park, James was leading her around the back, behind the rubbish skips.

"James...what..."

"Shh," he whispered, hugging her close. "You're in no state to drive home, and considering I have no idea what the difference between a break and an accelumator is..."

"Accelerator," Lily sniffed, almost smiling.

"Right," said James laughing, "that just goes to prove that the only option we have left is this," and gripping her tightly, James began to spin.

Lily grimaced as the familiar turning sensation had her stomach whirring, and pinched her eyes closed tightly. Before she knew it, she was standing in her bedroom with James' arms still wrapped around her. There was a moments silence and then James murmured into her ear,

"Well... I hate to say I told you so...but..."

Before he could finish, Lily had shoved him away from her, eyes blazing.

"Don't...you...dare."

James just stared at his wife, a grin slowly spreading across his mouth.

"James! I'm failing to see what's amusing here!"

"Nothing, nothing" said James, now clutching his stomach in order to stop his laughter. "I was just thinking about the way Vernon's _chins_ wobbled when Petunia yanked him away."

All the sadness and angst and fatigue inside Lily vanished as a laugh bubbled up inside her throat, and before either of them could stop it, they were both falling over each other, laughing hysterically and clutching their sides. They carried on like that until all the pain from the evening had fled, and then James fell onto the bed and pulled Lily so she was lying next to him. There was a moment of silence, allowing them to just stare into each other's eyes, before James' face fell in mock horror.

"What?" said Lily, smiling sleepily.

"I just had a terrifying thought... In nine months, there'll be a... there'll be a Dursley Junior!"

A fresh wave of laughter rebounded around the walls of their room, before Lily fell into a pleasant dream of teddy bears, hugs from Daddy, and secrets with her sister under the covers of their blankets...


	3. Sunday Mornings

**I'd originally planned this to be short... But I liked the direction it took so I let if flow :)  
><strong>**Thank you so much to everyone who's checked this out... I would love love love some more reviews!  
><strong>**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>Sunday mornings had always been Lily's favourite time of the week.<p>

When she was younger, Sunday mornings had been about family. Lily and Petunia would climb into bed with their parents, and their mother would bring them hot chocolates. Then, the four of them would make a tent under the covers, and Lily and Petunia would beg to hear the story of how their parents me, their first date, their wedding...

Some Sunday mornings, Lily would tell her mother that she was going to play on the swings. She'd pack a bag and disappear for the first half of the day. She'd meet Severus at their spot by the lake under the big shady oaks, they'd share the sandwiches Lily had brought, and they'd talk about the things that Lily wasn't allowed to at home, like magic and unicorns and owls that delivered letters...

When she'd been at Hogwarts, she would wake up before anyone else in Gryffindor, and take a book or some homework down to the common room. If it was a nice day outside, she'd sometimes slip out to the lakeside. She loved the solitude and the quietness, the feeling that she was the only one on the planet. If she was having a bad week, she'd always look forward to Sundays... Somehow things just felt right.

She'd had her first kiss with James on a Sunday morning.

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><p>Lily had just received the letter that she'd written to Petunia back, unopened. She'd stormed out of breakfast in the Great Hall and out into the snowy grounds to cool off. She didn't realise how cold it was until the anger had slowly ebbed out of her system and she'd noticed that she had snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes. It was then that she also noticed just how far she'd walked away from the castle...without a jacket. Sighing as she thought about how she'd probably have hypothermia by the time she made it back inside, Lily turned to begin her walk back...and walked straight into James. He looked at her with a sheepish grin on his face.<p>

"Following me now, Potter?" Lily asked, a smile appearing despite her efforts to look serious.

If someone had told her two months ago that she would be up to her third date with James Potter - the arrogant toe-rag- she would've said they'd been confunded. If they'd told her that she would actually be _enjoying_ dating James Potter and that she got these stupid little butterflies in her stomach whenever he grinned his stupid crooked grin at her...well she probably would've had them sent to St. Mungo's.

...But here she was.

"No...I was just out for a...walk?"

Lily raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"Ok, fine, I was following you. But only because I saw you rush out of breakfast..." He saw the unopened letter in her hand. "Are you ok?"

Lily nodded... He was cute when he was concerned...very cute. Lily had a sudden overwhelming urge to run her fingers through his messy, black hair. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought.

"You're cold...That's what you get for running out into a blizzard without a coat... I thought you were meant to be the smart one, Evans?"

Lily nodded vigorously to hide the fact that her shiver had not been from the cold at all...But now that she stopped to think about it, she was pretty sure she'd lost all sensation in her fingers and toes. Before she could even make a move to head back inside however, James had removed his own jacket and was pulling it tight around her shoulders.

"I know this is totally cliché," he said with a smirk, "but humour me".

Lily couldn't have made a witty remark even if she'd tried...her brain was reeling as she breathed in the scent from his jacket. She exhaled heavily to try and clear her head... but her mind spun again as she noticed the form fitted navy sweater that James had been wearing under his coat, hugging closely to his toned chest... Lily shook her head to try and bring herself back down to earth...not before a soft blush crept slowly across her cheeks, though.

James laughed huskily, causing Lily's cheeks to flame even brighter. He took a step forward. Lily tried to regain some dignity.

"Ok Potter, let's hear some _witty_ remark about how your body drives all the girls crazy, or how my face is the exact colour of my hair at the moment or..." Lily was silenced by the look in his eyes.

"Actually... I was just going to tell you how incredibly beautiful you look right now Lily".

Lily swore her heart skipped a beat.

"What...what did you just call me" she choked out.

"Lily..." he said smiling, and stepping closer again.

Unable to help herself, she shuddered at the sound of her name on his lips.

"That...has...that's got to be the first time...you've called me by...my first name".

He was even closer now. She was struggling to put coherent sentences together.

"Huh, so it is" James smiled. He was so close, she felt his breath on her cold lips.

Their hands touched, and he lightly linked their fingers together, causing tingles all up her arms.

"You're frozen" he whispered.

"So are you", she whispered back. Their noses were touching now.

"Lily..." he whispered again, and suddenly, his lips were on hers.

It was a soft and gentle kiss at first...tentative, like he was afraid of hurting her, or of rejection. Without even realising what she was doing however, almost as if she was detached from her body, Lily found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and scrunching her fingers in his hair, pulling him even closer, if that was possible. That was all the permission James needed, and suddenly, his arms were wrapped solidly around her waist and his mouth became rougher and more frantic. They clutched at each other, two figures alone in the snow, flakes falling softly around them. It seemed like a lifetime, a perfect lifetime, that they stood like that, until the blood came rushing back to their lips and warmed them up, then the kiss slowed and they gently returned back to earth.

"Wow..." said James, when they finally broke apart.

His face was flushed and he wore a huge smile on his face.

"Wow," Lily agreed, smiling.

"Bet you're sorry it took you so long to say yes to me now, Evans!" He was grinning wickedly.

Lily smiled back sweetly, with a gleam in her eye.

"Well then Potter, I guess I'll just have to work extra hard to make up for lost time, won't I?"

And leaving James standing shell shocked in the snow, Lily made her way back up to the castle.

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><p>It was a Sunday morning the first time James told her that he loved her.<p>

* * *

><p>It had been close to the end of their last year at Hogwarts, and they had been going out for a few months. It was a time in Lily's life where she was just carefree and completely happy, and it was all thanks to James.<p>

She woke up every day, still surprised to find herself 'James Potter's girlfriend'. She wasn't meant to fall for him, it came as much of a surprise to her as it did to anyone... but she did. She'd fallen hard.

When they'd been together for almost five months, James' mother passed away. He'd already lost his father at a young age, and the death of his mother affected him much more than he let on.

James had just returned to Hogwarts after a week off for the funeral, and this Sunday morning had been the first time Lily could get him away in his own.

She'd taken him down to a secluded spot by the lake. Spring was in the air, the sun was out, the flowers were blooming and the grass was soft under their feet.

As soon as they were out of the castle and away from his friends, James let his true emotions show.

Lily placed a blanket on the grass, and James collapsed onto it, his whole frame slumping with an inner exhaustion.

Unsure of exactly what to do, but wanting desperately to help him, Lily fell to her knees next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Expecting him to ignore her advances, Lily was surprised when he turned his head into her shoulder and clutched at her arms. She was even more surprised when she felt his body shake with quiet sobs.

They sat like that for what seemed like an eternity; Lily rubbing gentle circles on James' back, kissing his forehead, whispering in his ear. They sat like that until James had run out of tears, and he raised his head, unable to look Lily in the eye.

"I'm sorry," he said, voice raspy and thick with tears.

"Don't be, please", she said.

He kept his eyes down.

"James!" said Lily, more firmly. "Don't be ashamed... don't you dare for one second think you're not allowed to feel like this, that I think any less of you for it. If anything, it just makes me care more."

She gently grasped his face in her hands, and turned his head so she could stare into his red rimmed eyes.

"I want you to talk to me!"

A hard look crossed James' eyes, the same look he got when he was trying to act tough around his friends. Lily worried for a moment that he wasn't going to be open with her, and she squeezed his hand lightly. Just like that, all James' defences were broken and he found himself opening up to her more than he'd ever opened up to anyone in his life – even Sirius.

He talked endlessly about his mother and father, sharing stories with her from his childhood. They both laughed, and they both cried. Lily never let go of his hand.

He talked about his father, and his father's funeral, how it had been so hard to go to his mothers alone, how he wished Lily had been there.

"Do you know what my biggest fear is Lils?" James asked, as he rubbed the tears from his eyes.

"It's not that I've got to look after myself now...My parents left me with enough money to do that... I'm just afraid of going home to an empty house... I'm afraid of being alone".

A slow smile spread over Lily's face at his words... not the exact reaction James was expecting, but Lily grasped his arm firmly, looked into his eyes and said,

"You're not alone James. You'll never be alone. Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail? They'll always be there for you..."

James allowed a small smile to cross his face at the mention of his friends.

"...but most importantly... you have me, and I'm here for you..._always_... I'm not going anywhere, whether you like it or not... I can speak to my parents, you can come and stay with us over the holidays and..."

James silenced her with a kiss. He sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair, a real smile appearing on his face. He closed his eyes at her touch, and said quietly, almost to himself,

"I love you Lily".

His eyes flicked open when he felt her hands freeze.

"I'm sorry! It just slipped out, it's too soon, I shouldn't have..."

Lily silenced him with a kiss.

"I love you too James".

Smiles lit up both their faces as James pulled Lily close, slowly leaning back until they were both lying down, but instead of looking up at the clouds, they continued to gaze into each other's eyes.

Not a single day passed after that one where Lily and James didn't say "I love you".

* * *

><p>Sunday morning was still Lily's favourite time of the week.<p>

It was the beginning of the only day James had off from his work with The Order. He'd gotten in late the night before, so Lily let him sleep in. She lay in the bed next to him, gently brushing his crazy hair out of his face, watching him sleep. He was splayed across his side of the bed, almost as if he'd just thrown himself down and hadn't moved since... which, Lily thought, was probably the case. He was always so tired after work...and watching him lying there, so peaceful and vulnerable looking made Lily's heart clench with fear. She worried every time he stepped out the door, especially if the rumours they'd been hearing about Voldemort recently were true...

She pulled the blanket up over James' exposed, toned back, almost as if covering him up would keep him safe.

Trying to take her mind of it, she rolled over and attempted to read her book, but was interrupted by a growling noise coming from her stomach.

"Hungry, baby?" Lily laughed lightly, and carefully so she wouldn't wake James, she rolled out of bed. "Let's go get us something to eat".

She was just about to leave the room when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Stopping and smiling slightly, Lily raised her pyjama top so that her stomach was exposed.

She couldn't stop her grin as she cupped her hand over the-almost-nonexistent-but-just-visible baby bump.

"I can't wait to meet you baby," she whispered.

Lily's smile continued to grow as she heard the bed creak near her, and suddenly James appeared in the reflection behind her, hair ruffled, but eyes bright.

"I could get used to waking up to this every morning," he said, placing his hands on top of Lily's over the bump and kissing her on the neck. "How are my favourites doing today?"

Lily continued to smile at their reflection in the mirror.

"We're happy that you have the whole day to spend with you," she said... and then she heard her stomach rumble again. "We're also very hungry".

James laughed.

"Alright come on then, let's go make breakfast".

Lily took James' hand, and together, they went downstairs.

Sunday mornings were definitely Lily's favourite time of the week.


	4. Welcome Home

The sun was slowly setting over London. Lily was flipping through a book, not paying particular attention to what she was reading. Her foot tapped impatiently on the floor.

"You said you'd be ready in five minutes….fifteen minutes ago!" she called up to the bathroom.

James' laugh answered her.

"If you hadn't taken so long in here first, we would've been ready an hour ago!"

"Ready for what?" Lily called out hopefully.

"Nice try," said James, a wicked grin on his face as he appeared in the doorway."I thought you would've realised after the fiftieth time you'd asked that I'm not telling. That's the point of a surprise Lily…it's surprising!"

He laughed at the disappointed look on her face.

"C'mere you".

He placed her coat around her shoulders, wrapping her in a tight hug as he did so.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I'm quite certain that you're going to love it?"

She muttered something indistinguishable into his shoulder.

"What was that?" James asked, laughing.

"I said, 'is there going to be food at this surprise?' Baby has to eat, you know".

James laughed again.

"Yes, there'll be plenty of food for baby…and for mum too. But first, you have to put this on…"

Out of is pocket, he pulled a piece of black material.

"What's that?" Lily asked. "..A scarf?"

Something about the teasing smile on his face made her realise it wasn't a scarf.

"No way James Potter, there is no way you're blind folding me. No way, nuh uh!"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Evans" he whispered playfully in her ear, and without really knowing how it happened, Lily found herself emerged in blackness.

"That's Mrs Potter to you" she snapped back in playful indignation, and then James' hand was in hers, warm and strong, and he was pulling her, spinning through the darkness.

* * *

><p>Lily stumbled a bit when the spinning stopped, straight into James' steady arms.<p>

"Disapparating is even worse in a blindfold" she grumbled, trying to ignore the faint churning in her stomach.

She noticed the cool air brushing her face, the sound of leaves rusting and birds singing the last song of the day somewhere in the distance.

"…Outside? James…. _Where_ are we?"

She heard him draw in a breath next to her.

"Ok…Ok…are you ready?"

His voice had a strained tone to it.

"Are you _nervous_?" She asked incredulously, mind reeling with the possibilities of what she may be about to see.

"Me! No!...maybe a little….alright, a bit….I assume you're going to love it, but what if I'm wrong…and I've done the wrong thing, and you hate it, and.."

"Why don't you take off the blindfold so we can find out" she said, amusedly cutting off his rambling.

James never got nervous.

He took a deep breath.

"Ok, ok...here goes…"

The blindfold fell away, weak orange light from the fading sun filling her vision. It took Lily a moment to adjust, eyes blinking rapidly.

They were standing at the end of a street lined with cottages, each with a thatched roof and ivy climbing up the sides…Lily was reminded of the gingerbread houses her mother would make at Christmas time when she was a child.

Looking down the street to her left, she saw that it came out into pretty little square. In the fading light, she could just glimpse the antique store, the cake shop, the fountain bubbling merrily in the middle, the beautiful wrought iron gates to what looked like an ancient cemetery, next to the pretty little church.

To her right were small fields filled with lavender, daisies, sunflowers, enveloping the air with a calming floral scent. At the boundaries of the fields was a thick pine forest that extended past her line of sight.

And right in front of them, slightly separate from the other houses on the street was the prettiest cottage she had ever seen.

Two storeys high, brick, thatched roof…windows with blue shutters, dark ivy crawling up the walls on all sides…a pond just visible in the back yard, sturdy oak trees growing at the back fence…red and white roses planted alongside the path running up to the front door…tall hedges lined the front of the house, acting as a fence, a small wrought iron gate allowing entry to the yard…

Lily's breath caught in her throat. It was the most perfect home she'd seen, the type she used to dream of when she was young….and strangely familiar…like she'd seen it somewhere before…

James was looking at her expectantly, an unsure smile playing on his lips as he watched Lily staring in awe at the house.

Her eyes flicked questioningly to his.

"…Welcome home, Mrs Potter," he mumbled.

It took a moment for his words to sink in.

"Home?…James…. This place is…" she trailed off, unable to say the words.

"…ours. This place is ours."

Lily thought her heart might burst. It was at that moment that she realised why the place seemed familiar.

"This is the place I found in '_The Prophet'_! I was looking for days; this is the only house I liked…But…How did you know?"

"You circled it…with little love hearts and everything!" James laughed. "I checked it out last week…and I fell in love straight away…I dunno Lils, there's something about it…I was signing the papers that night… I know we should've talked about first, but I really wanted to surprise you… you're not mad are you?"

Lily launched herself into his arms, knocking his glasses askew.

"Mad! Mad…how on earth could I be mad?" She beamed. "This is so perfect…we have a house…our own house! ..and we have a baby on the way! It's all just…perfect. It's perfect, James…"

She could feel her eyes filling up with tears, and her heart felt so full of love that she was sure it would burst out of her chest at any moment.

"You're not crying are you Lily?" James asked teasingly, now that the fear of Lily's wrath had diminished.

"Of course not, pregnancy hormones", she sniffed, quickly wiping the corners of her eyes.

James continued to beam as he untangled himself from her, still gripping her hand tightly in his as he gently pushed open the little gate.

"Would you like to have a look inside?"

It took all Lily's strength not to run down the path into the house.

Hand in hand they strolled to the front door as the first stars of the night began to shine.

James let her have the honour of opening the door, and then there they were, standing in the doorway of their own home.

Tears threatened to spill over Lily's cheeks again.

They stood in a hallway. To the right was a small room, with windows overlooking the front yard…also to the right was the staircase, leading up to what she imagined would be the bedrooms. To the left was the lounge room, with big, curtained windows and an old fireplace, which was already lit and flickering merrily away. Further along the hallway to the left was the entrance of what Lily guessed to be the kitchen, and again she had to restrain herself from running to each room.

It was while they were still standing in the doorway, Lily still gazing into James' eyes, about to ask what they should see first, when they heard it.

The rustling upstairs, followed by a loud 'BANG', and the sound of an unmentionable word echoing through the empty house.

Lily looked at James in alarm, only to see a disgruntled look cross his face.

"They were supposed to be gone by now…" Lily thought she heard him grumble under his breath.

She was just about to ask _who_ exactly was supposed to be gone by now, when the unmistakeable smug tones of Sirius Black greeted them from somewhere above their heads.

"Oh, crap..Moony, abort broom, they're here already!"

Lily heard the slightly softer tone of Remus Lupin say something indistinguishable from further away.

"What do you mean _already_?" James called up. "I made sure we were running fifteen minutes late specifically so you two could clear out!"

There was a bark like laugh from above them, and suddenly the head of shaggy dark hair that belonged to the disturber of the peace in question appeared, peering down at the over the banister with a wicked smile and twinkle in his eyes.

"What do you know, time got away from us. You should _see_ what we found in the attic though Prongs, honestly, the muggle who was here before you has some serious explaining to do…Oh, hey Evans!"

Lily smiled tiredly up at him.

"Hello Padfoot…"

Sirius' head whipped out of sight again. They heard him call to Remus,

"Come on Moony, we really should clear out before they start - "

"Hey!" yelled James moodily.

Lily couldn't help but laugh.

James groaned.

"Sorry about this…"

Lily continued to laugh.

"What _are _they doing here anyway?"

"They agreed to help me set…something… up because they knew I wouldn't have time with work…but they promised to be out before we got here…"

They heard the thud of footsteps approaching them, and looked up to see the two men traipsing down the stairs, the handsome dark haired one in the lead with a mischievous glint in his eyes, while the slight, sandy haired one trailed behind him, looking apologetically at the couple in the doorway.

"Nice place you've got here" Sirius said with a wink.

"I'm sorry Lily" Remus said. 'We were on out way out, I swear, and Padfoot just wanted to have a look around…and then he found the box in the attic and thought it would be amusing to attempt to dress me in the clothes within it and…"

Lily giggled, cutting him off.

"It's fine Moony, honestly…. Thank you both for helping James with…whatever it is…No Wormy?"

Sirius shrugged.

"We asked him to help out…but he said he was busy, with God knows what….Probably lining his walls with pillows, and stocking up his cellar with food or something, in case of an attack…" Sirius laughed.

"He's scared to leave the house these days, what with all the rumours about…well…you know…" Remus explained.

Sirius shrugged again.

"His loss, he missed out on seeing how _dashing_ Moony looked in that old feathered cap..."

"Ok, well, now that we're done with the catch up how about you two…_get out!"_ complained James, practically dragging his friends out the door.

"Alright alright alright, we're leaving…some thanks Prongs, geez, do you want us to help you actually move in or what? But you two have a good time now, you hear" Sirius said winking. "I would say 'stay safe', but I think the time for that has already come and gone" He laughed, winking at Lily and patting her stomach. "Hey, how is little Potter going anyway…"

"Out!" cried James, closing the door on Sirius who was still grinning devilishly, and Remus who gave a final, apologetic wave.

Sirius' barking laugh resounded for another second, until there was a loud 'crack!' followed by a calm silence.

Lily turned, smiling to her husband who just gave a resigned shrug and said,

"Where were we?"

He took her by the hand, and led her to their left, into the lounge room with the crackling fireplace.

"I promised you food, didn't I?"

Lily stopped in her tracks. On the floor of the lounge room, not visible from the hallway was a red and white chequered picnic rug, laden with pillows, surrounded by flickering candles, and piled high with sandwiches, quiches, pastries, fruit and cakes of all flavours.

For the third time that evening, Lily felt herself choke up.

James smiled.

"I know, I know….pregnancy hormones".

Lily flung herself into James' arms, and laughed dizzily as he pulled them down onto the rug together.

He slipped a pillow under her head and leaning up on one elbow; he pressed a gentle kiss against her lips.

"I love you" she whispered.

He smiled.

"I love you too…and Lils, as I was saying… Welcome home".

"Perfect," Lily whispered, before James kissed her again.

"Just…perfect".


	5. You Can't Choose Your Family

**Ok so, I don't really know what this is...I think I mostly did it to explore the Lily-Lupin friendship, because that's something I really liked from the movies, and I definitely could see it being true... Would love some more reviews guys, they really mean a lot and get me motivated!  
>Hope you like it!<br>**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>A resounding _crash_, followed by a number of choicely swear words bounced through the half-empty-but-filling-quickly house.

"Jeez Padfoot, if that was Lily's mother's china set, you're gunna be slaughtered, and I'm not gunna do a thing to stop it. The boxes are marked '_fragile' _for a_ reason _you twit!"

A barking laugh answered him.

"Bring it on!"

James rolled his eyes, and _carefully_ lowered his own wand, placing the hovering box on the kitchen floor, before quickly darting back outside to collect more boxes; barely saving himself from crashing straight into Peter who was so laden with items balancing precariously on top of him that he could barely be seen.

"Whoops, sorry Wormy, didn't see you there".

"It...It's alright Prongs" came Peter's muffled stutter from somewhere behind the pile.

"Come to think of it Wormtail, we haven't been seeing much of you anywhere lately", said Sirius joining them in the hall and relieving Peter of some of the weight so they could see his face. "Haven't made ourselves a secret lady friend, now have we?"

James laughed as Peter paled.

"N...n...n...no! Nothing like that, nothing like that at all!"

"Oh, a secret gentleman friend then 'ey?" Sirius teased throwing James a wink. "It's alright Wormtail; we're all friends here, no judgement!"

James and Sirius continued to laugh as Peter looked like he was about to choke on something. James patted him reassuringly on the back as he headed towards the front door.

"C'mon you two these boxes aren't going to move themselves you know!"

"Pray tell, how is our dear friend Moony escaping this house-moving-harassment from Master Prongs?" asked Sirius, joining James to collect more boxes while Peter deposited his inside.

"He's out the back with Lily. She said she wanted to show him the pond, but I think she just wants a chance to talk to him...you know...about her dad. It's the first time she's seen him since the funeral."

Sirius patted James' back sympathetically, the jovial mood from a moment ago instantly forgotten.

"How're you doing Prongs?"

"Me? I'm doing fine. Of course I'm sad...David was a great man, a great friend. I guess you could say that I wasn't surprised though...Nobody was. He hadn't been the same since Heather died, and we all knew, even Lily, that it was only a matter of time..." James trailed off.

"How's Lils dealing with it all?"

"Honestly", James sighed, "I'm not really sure. She wants to be strong for me, and for the baby...but I think that's what hurts her the most... That Davey will never get to meet his grandchildren".

Sirius looked at his friend sadly.

"I told her we could wait to move in, you know, that she didn't need the added stress...but she insisted. Said we'd already put it off for two weeks, and that she wanted to move in. She said being in our own place would make her feel better". James sighed again. "I thought that getting Moony over was a good idea too... you know how they are together, always talking about that deep sort of stuff. He said he'd see what he could do". James drifted into sad silence.

"Hey," said Sirius, gripping his shoulder firmly. "You're doing the right thing you know, being here for her, helping her through. But most importantly, you're moving forwards. That's all any of us can do mate".

James nodded, grateful for his friend's reassurance.

"Now c'mon", Sirius said, clapping him on the back. "You're right, these boxes aren't gunna move themselves, and we need to find out where Wormtail's gotten too...maybe we can lock him in the attic or something, help make you feel better..."

Smiling slightly again, the two men got back to work.

* * *

><p>"I can just imagine it Moony, sitting out here in the summer with a baby, watching you boys playing Quidditch, teaching the little one when they're old enough... It's exactly what I wanted..."<p>

Remus smiled at Lily. The pair were down at the back of the house, sitting on the grass by the edge of the pond. The sun was beginning to set, sending fiery ripples of orange and red light dancing over the water at their feet.

"It's perfect for you guys, it really is".

There was a moment of silence before Remus turned and looked Lily straight in the eyes.

"How are you _really_ doing Lily?"

Lily gave him a small smile.

"All things considered? I'm doing ok. There are moments...moments when I realise that I've lost my mum...and now my dad...and for all intents and purposes my sister...and that my baby won't ever know its grandparents. Those are the moments when I feel like breaking down..."

Remus took her hand in his and held it tightly.

"But then, you know...I stop, and I think about not what I've lost, but what I _have..._", Lily sniffed, wiping one escaped tear from the corner of her eye."...and suddenly, life doesn't seem so sad anymore. I have faced Voldemort _three_ times already in my life..._three_times, and lived, and that alone is so much more than can be said for so many. I have a husband who I absolutely adore, and we're moving in to our very own house. We have a baby on the way!"

Without realising, a disbelieving laugh escaped her lips. Remus smiled back.

"I guess what just gets me down, is that...our baby doesn't have much of a family left anymore".

Remus continued to hold her hand.

"Now you listen to me Lily Potter, while it may look like you don't have family left...you _really_ do. We all do. We have The Marauders, and that is a family all of its own, a family for life. You have Hagrid, and you have Dumbledore, and the Longbottom's (they're having a baby too, did you know?), and all our other friends from school, and every single member of the Order. All these people willing to die, risking their lives every day just to help save each other. Your baby isn't going to grow up without a family, without endless amounts of love. Sure, it's not exactly conventional...but it works just the same".

A smile had been spreading across Lily's face as Remus talked. She pulled him into a tight hug, and all her emotions would allow her to say was "thank you".

Remus understood though. He'd been through a lot with Lily over the years, and she had helped him more than she would ever know. It was his turn to start giving something back.

The friends continued to watch the changing colours of the lake for a while longer...until a loud, distinct _bang_ resonated from the house behind them. There was a moment silence, and then –

**_"SIRIUS!"_**

James' roar echoed through the house and out into the yard.

Lily and Remus looked at each other for a moment, until their faces flared into knowing grins.

"You know what they say," said Remus with a wink, as he helped Lily up. "You can't choose your family!"

Laughing softly, the pair walked arm in arm back to the house to assess the damage.


	6. Antics In The Attic

"Padfoot was right. That muggle _does_have some serious explaining to do!"

"James! Focus, _please!"_

"Sorry, sorry...but look. What do you think?"

James leapt out from behind a pile of boxes, sporting a large orange sombrero, bright green sunglasses and a bedraggled pink feather-boa; devilish grin playing on his face.

Despite her best efforts, Lily couldn't stop a laugh escaping her lips.

"Charming, absolutely gorgeous" she said dryly, but unable to hide her smile.

"That's not even the worst of it!" said James, disappearing back behind the boxes, only to reappear with a pair of torn fishnet stockings and sparkling pink stilettos which he proudly held out to his wife.

"James!"Lily laughed indignantly. "_Please!_Being up here is making me sneeze!"

Right on cue a loud "AAH-CHOO" escaped her.

"Ok, ok, ok" said James humorously, placing the items back into a box. "Tell me again what you heard?"

Lily rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

"A noise, a rustling noise...and a thudding... coming from up here...Twice last night, and once this morning...It sounded like it was mainly coming from that side" she said, pointing to the right of the attic they were currently standing in.

"Are you sure it wasn't just our friend here?" said James with a lazy smile, slinging his arm casually across a partially disfigured mannequin propped up beside him.

"_James! _This isn't...this isn't funny. With everything going on lately...and all the rumours, and our work for the order... Well, who knows where we're safe!"

James looked at his wife bemusedly.

"I'm _sure_there are a couple of Death Eaters hiding patiently up here right now, sitting quietly behind those boxes in the corner, in anticipation of my next fashion show".

He rolled his eyes in amusement, but stopped when he saw Lily's face.

"Please", she mumbled in a small voice, and James noticed her hands circle protectively around her ever growing stomach.

"Ok", James sighed in resignation. "Just for Baby Prongs, I will brave the dust bunnies, attack of hay fever, and fearlessly search for the Dark Lord behind those boxes in the corner. Ok?"

Lily smiled at him.

"Baby is making me particularly...paranoid. I'm being silly aren't I?" she asked.

"Just a little bit", James said, leaning over to kiss her nose. "It's adorable though".

With a dramatic flourish of his wand as though it was a sword, James vanished behind a pile of crates.

There was some scuffling, a moment silence, and then James called out;

"I think the only thing we have to fear here is a serious case of spring cleaning in the not too distant future...Hold on a second...what's that?"

"What's what?" called Lily, her voice rising in alarm. "That's not funny James...James?"

Her hand reached instinctively for her wand in the front pocket of her jeans.

Before she could pull it out however, there was a loud –

'_**BANG**_!"

James yelled -

"**_HEY_**!"

There was a screeching –

'**_YOWL_**' –

and suddenly, boxes were toppling everywhere.

Lily threw herself up against the wall, arms wrapping instinctively around her stomach as boxes continued to rain down, sending clouds of dust into the air.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something small and yellow streak past her.

"Lily!" James' muffled voice called out to her, once the boxes ceased falling. "Are you alright!"

Relief swept over her at the sound of his voice.

"I'm fine!" Lily called back, coughing slightly. "Are you!"

She rushed over to where the boxes had crashed around her husband – and had to stifle a laugh.

James was sprawled on the ground, surrounded by a mountain of boxes, covered head to toe in dust that turned his skin the colour of a weathered statue. His glasses lay skewed across his nose, and perfectly positioned upon his head was a large pirate hat, complete with a fraying feather and glued on toy parrot.

He stood up, caught sight of himself in an old antique mirror, and suddenly the pair was falling over each other in mirth.

"What was that!" Lily asked, straightening his glasses and brushing the dust out of his hair after their amusement died down.

James looked around the attic, and his eyes lit up as he spotted something in the opposite corner.

"There's your Death Eater".

Lily whipped around in alarm – only to spot a small, quivering yellow lump in the corner. With a nod from James, she cautiously approached it.

"Oh James look!" she sighed when she got up close, and suddenly she had swept up the shivering lump into her arms.

"It's a kitten!"

"A _kitten?"_James asked disbelievingly. "That thing is not a kitten! A crazy, raving tiger cub more like it!"

Lily held the squirming shape up, tenderly examining it.

"Oh, he ran straight into the wall the poor baby...His face is hurt James, see? Oh, but isn't he cute!"

James titled his head to the side, to see if he could get a better understanding of what Lily meant.

"Honestly," he said after a moment. "I see a bandy legged little cretin, with a squashed face and a killer screech to boot. Not to mention he just attacked me! Possessed, maybe. Cute? No way!".

James almost choked on the dust when Lily nestled the little monster under her chin and let it nuzzle into her shoulder.

"Lily!" He said indignantly. "You don't know where that thing has been!"

"Nonsense", she said, continuing to coddle the cat. "We can keep him, right?"

"_Keep him_!" James spluttered. "Why on earth would we keep him?"

Lily looked beseechingly at her husband.

"...Because he's all alone! He's only a baby, he has no family, no one to love him. We can't leave him here James!"

"Lily", he said, looking at her imploringly. "It's a _cat_...and a butt ugly one at that".

James swore the kitten shot him a seething look with his wicked amber eyes.

"But...But James. He's hurt...It's your fault he's hurt!"

"_My fault!"_ he spluttered. 'The thing attacked me Lils!"

"You were just frightened, weren't you Leo?" Lily cooed.

"Leo?" James amusedly questioned.

"You know...Like a lion. He looks a bit like a lion, don't you think?"

"Looks more like the devil incarnate" he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Lily asked, not taking her eyes of '_Leo'_, who was now purring contentedly between shooting spiteful glares at James.

"Nothing...nothing" James sighed.

Looking at Lily, so wrapped in the cat, tender expression in her eyes, he knew there was no way he could say no to her. As if she knew what he was thinking, she turned her big emerald eyes pleadingly onto him.

"Please James" she said, fluttering her eyelashes. "Pretty please..."

James sighed again, this time in resignation. A smile lit up Lily's face – She already knew she'd won.

"Fine!" He grumbled, as she threw herself into his arms. "But the first sign of trouble, and he's out, got it?"

Lily laughed.

"He's a _cat_, remember" she said sarcastically, echoing his previous statement. "Besides", she said, turning her attention back to the furball. "You're a good boy, aren't you Leo?"

The cat continued to purr innocently in Lily's arms.

"Let's go and find you something to eat little guy" she murmured, heading down the attic ladder, leaving James standing slightly baffled in the middle of the attic, still covered head to toe in dust.

Just before Lily lowered herself down, James swore he saw the cat shoot him a scathing, satisfied look, and then with a flick of his bushy ginger tail, he was gone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yes<strong>_** the cat is supposed to be baby Crookshanks.  
><strong>**So, I know this isn't exactly believable for a few reason -  
>1) SiriusLupin probably would have recognised Crookshank's as the Potter's old cat...He's pretty unique.  
><strong>**2) This would make Crookshanks really old in feline terms when Hermione buys him.  
><strong>**But, I still really like the idea of him being the cat that Lily mentioned in her letter to Sirius. It would also explain his hatred of Wormtail, because he betrayed Lily who Crookshank's became particularly attached too, and I sort of liked the idea of him watching over Harry as well.  
><strong>**Anyway, I'm almost at 2000 views for this story, so I would absolutely love some more reviews on it...Pretty please, just to make my day!  
><strong>**Criticism totally welcome.  
>Hope you liked it!<strong>


	7. A Warning, A Wonder

"Lily? I'm home!"

"In the kitchen!"

A smile lit up Lily's face at the sound of her husband's voice.

He'd only been gone for two days, but lately it seemed like every time he had to leave, she found herself holding her breath until he returned.

James bounded in like a puppy dog, a goofy smile on his face. He scooped Lily up into a one armed embrace and kissed her gently on the mouth.

"For you, mademoiselle," he said in a ridiculous French accent, handing her the bouquet of white roses he had been hiding behind his back.

"They're beautiful, thank you!" said Lily with a laugh.

"Beautiful flowers for my beautiful wife" he said. "What's for dinner; smells great..."

Lily continued to smile at his boisterous behaviour, pulling him away from the saucepan he was about to stick a spoon into.

"What's got into you this evening?" she questioned.

"Nothing, nothing...I'm just happy to be home!"

Something in his particularly large smile and over the top enthusiasm made Lily look at him twice.

"Is everything alright? How was work?"

James flopped into a chair at the table. Now that the bravado was dimming slightly, Lily could see how obviously tired he was.

"Work was...fine. Nothing eventful happened anyway. How about you, how have your days been?"

Lily placed her hands on her hips and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Uh uh, something's up. Spill, Potter".

James smiled wearily at his wife. She _always_ knew. How did she always know?

"It's nothing bad, I promise...Well, nothing _too bad_. I just...had a visit from Dumbledore when I was at Order Headquarters".

Lily raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"_Dumbledore_? What did he want?"

James sighed.

"Not much really...just to talk. He wanted to pass on his congratulations, you know, about the baby..."

"And he had to pay you a special visit just for that, did he?" Lily asked sceptically.

"Well no...hey I think the water's boiling over there, you should probably check that..."

"James! Tell me what's going on!" Lily demanded.

James sighed again.

"I don't want you to get worried over nothing, ok? Because it really is nothing...just rumours...and besides, I'm going to take care of you no matter what and..."

"JAMES POTTER! Just...Spit...It...Out!"

James swallowed hard.

"Ok ok. Dumbledore came to...well...he came to warn me...to warn us".

Lily swore her heart skipped a beat.

"Warn you? Warn you about what?"

"There have been rumours, Lils...Just rumours I swear! But he seems to think that we might be in some kind of danger".

Without thinking about it, Lily's hands went instinctively to her stomach.

"Why...why would he think that?" she asked in a hoarse voice, trying to sound braver than she felt.

"You know we've got some people working undercover, right? Well, rumour has it that Voldemort hasn't finished with us yet. He's used to getting what he wants Lils...and apparently, he wants us. Now that we've rejected him and escaped him three times, they seem to think he wants to finish the job...for good".

Lily gripped the kitchen bench for support, knuckles white. James saw his wife pale.

"Seriously, Lils it's only hearsay! Besides, we've known Voldemort was after us for years now; it's not exactly recent news...and we're still here, aren't we? We make it, every time!"

"It's different now James!" Lily cried, voice catching. "We have a baby to think about!"

"I know," James said softly, getting up and wrapping Lily in his arms. "It's going to be ok though...I'll never let anything happen to our baby, Lily".

Lily closed her eyes for a moment, and leant into James. She wished she could stay like this forever; warm and safe with the people she loved... But she wasn't one to hide under a rock when things turned bad.

"So... so what else did Dumbledore have to say?" she asked, pushing the hair from her face to looking up at James.

His expression hardened.

"His recommendation was that I stop work for the order, come back home and stay here...not doing anything". He scoffed. "It was also his '_sincerest advice'_ that we think about putting a Fidelius Charm on our house".

Lilly balked.

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him that I didn't think that was necessary. I said that I wasn't going to start basing my life around rumours, and that I definitely was not going to go into hiding, as if I was _afraid_ of Voldemort".

Lily looked at her husband appealingly.

"James...This isn't about how brave you are; no one could ever deny that...But if Dumbledore thinks it's a good idea... Maybe...maybe we should think about it too".

James cupped Lily's face in his hands.

"Has there ever been a time when I haven't taken care of you?" he asked gently.

Lily shook her head, turning her face in to kiss his palm.

"I'm not going to let anything hurt you Lily...Or our baby".

He pulled her into a hug.

Lily knew what he meant. She knew how much it would kill James to stay at home, rendered useless while people...their friends...were dying. She knew how much it would hurt him to put his life in another's hands, how he would feel like he had let his family down... But Lily was a mother now. They say that a mother becomes a parent the day she finds out that she's pregnant, but it takes a father until the baby is actually born...Lily knew she had to think about more than herself now.

"Just...Just promise me you'll at least think about it," she whispered into his shoulder.

Hesitatingly, tensely, James nodded.

* * *

><p>Later that night found the Potters nestled contentedly in their lounge room.<p>

Lily and James shared the couch, one at each end, legs tangled comfortably together.

The fire was burning happily in the corner as James poured over the '_Evening Prophet'_, and Lily wrote a letter to her friend, Marlene McKinnon.

"So, what did you get up to while I was gone?" James queried, turning a page idly.

"Honestly? Not much...I went for a few walks into the village, but that's about it...Oh! I did have an interesting visitor yesterday though!" Lily answered.

James looked up from the paper.

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Bathilda Bagshot...Turns out she lives just around the corner!"

James laughed.

"Bathilda Bagshot? The nutty old witch who wrote 'A History Of Magic'?"

"She wasn't... _very..._ nutty" Lily replied unapprovingly.

"Did you thank her for her contribution towards many hours of boredom at school, and for providing us with numerous pages of workbook to be vandalised?"

"James!" Lily laughed. "She's actually incredibly sweet, all a-flutter over the baby. She said she'd have us over for tea soon, she wants to meet you".

"There won't be like a pop quiz involved in that will there?"

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Oh look," said James, turning his attention back to the paper. "The Weasley's have added another baby to their brood...ha, another boy... 'Ronald Bilius'". He laughed.

"Don't laugh!" said Lily reproachfully. "They're such a lovely family! Why are you looking at the 'Births' section, anyway?"

"I wasn't, I was looking at the..." James trailed off.

He didn't need to finish his sentence.

"_I was looking at the 'Deaths'."_

A sad sort of silence settled over the room, and Lily suddenly no longer felt like continuing her letter.

She placed her writing on the ground, and squirmed deeper into the couch.

She was just about to nod off in the cosy warmth, when she felt it, and sat bolt upright with a gasp.

James' paper flew out of his hands as he jerked upright in response, a look of terror on his face.

"What's wrong Lily! Is it the baby, does something hurt!..."

She felt it again, but this time instead of gasping in surprise, a warm smile crept across her face.

"No...No nothing is wrong", she whispered in awe. "Here, see for yourself..."

She grabbed a completely bewildered James' hand and placed it on her stomach.

There was a moment of pressing anticipation...and then she felt it again.

Her baby kicked.

And this time, James felt it too.

"Was that...was that what I think it was?" James asked, in a voice that was very unlike his own.

Lily nodded, unable to form a coherent sentence.

James looked at his wife, eyes full of wonder.

Suddenly, he shifted position, so that he was lying on Lily's legs, and tenderly, he pressed an ear to her stomach.

"Can you hear us, baby?" he whispered.

Right on cue, the baby kicked again.

Lily laughed aloud in amazement.

"We love you, and we're going to make sure that you're safe, no matter what" James said to her belly.

"Do you think he can hear us?" He asked, looking up at Lily.

"He?" Lily questioned smilingly, running her fingers through his hair.

"Oh, I didn't mean...it just slipped out. Of course I don't care if we have a girl, I just have a feeling it's a 'he', and I'll love it no matter what, 'he' just seems nicer than 'it' and..."

"Come here you goofball", Lily laughed, lifting James' head up to hers, and kissing him on the forehead. "I love you".

James grinned at her.

"I love you too...until the very end".


	8. Names, Names, Names!

"John?"

"Too common. How about ...Oryan?"

"Too weird! Anne?"

"Too plain. Dristell?"

"Too...everything".

Lily sat in her favourite old chair in their lounge room, with James on the floor, leaning against her legs. Books and post-it notes were scattered everywhere.

Lily was pouring over "1001 Names For Your Baby", while James was picking up books of baby names from the piles surrounding him and opening pages at random. They'd been at it for hours, and still had only managed to develop a very short list of 'maybes'.

"Ok, ok... how about Skye?"

Lily pondered this for a moment.

"It's...not bad. Put it on the maybes".

James rolled his eyes.

"Lils, at this rate, our _baby_ is going to be named _Maybe_".

Lily prodded him in the back of the head with her wand.

"Hey!" James exclaimed.

"You know, if you let me find out the sex, this job would be a whole lot easierrrrr..." Lily sang leadingly.

James looked obstinately up at his wife.

"We've talked about this! I want to be surprised...It's so much more exciting that way!"

It was Lily's turn to roll her eyes, as she sank further into her chair.

"You already think it's a boy, we could just confirm that" she grouched huffily. "It's just so hard to wait...and this naming business is driving me crazy!"

"What's this I hear about names?" sounded a droll voice from the corner of the room.

"Padfoot!" cried James, scrambling up from the floor to go and greet his friend, whose head was currently positioned in the glowing embers of the Potter's fireplace.

"Hey Sirius", said Lily, as she lifted herself heavily from the armchair, and carefully manoeuvred her ever growing stomach around the mounds of books so she could greet her friend properly.

"I would've thought that the names would be a given", said Sirius' head with a wink.

"Oh yeah?" James laughed. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Sirius of course! After yours truly!"

James laughed loudly, and Lily scoffed.

"And what about if it's a girl, oh mighty name giver?"

"Well, that's easy" Sirius said, rolling his eyes. 'If it's a girl, you name her S-i-r-i-u-s-s-e... Siriusse!"

"Well, thanks for the suggestions," Lily said, while James continued to laugh. "But I think we're going to keep looking..."

Lily left the boys to catch up, and returned to her books.

After a little while, she tuned back in to their conversation.

"...I checked the rosters again, and you're still not signed on to work for the next two weeks, at least!" she heard Sirius say.

"What! That's ridiculous! Gideon Prewitt is in charge of scheduling right? I'll have to have words with him..."

"I already did mate, and he told me that Dumbledore himself requested that you be left out for now, said it was due to 'security reasons'. Gideon said there was nothing he could do'.

"Not this again!" James slumped angrily to the floor.

Sirius looked at him quizzically.

"What's going on Prongs?"

James sighed in frustration.

'Dumbledore has got it in his head that I'm in some sort of danger. He told me I should consider going into hiding...as if everyone who works for the Order isn't in danger! That's kind of the point!"

Lily, sensing James entering a danger zone, spoke up quickly.

"Padfoot you can either help us with names, or disappear...we were getting places before you became a distraction!"

She shot Sirius a meaningful look behind James' back.

Sirius understood – this was a touchy subject.

"If by "getting places", you mean what I overheard when I got here, then you guys have some serious work to do!" said Sirius light-heartedly, trying to change the mood.

James still looked slightly disgruntled, but Lily could see him shifting his focus back to the present issue. She thanked her stars for the first, and most likely last time, that her husband was so easily distractible.

The next half an hour was spent with back and forth playful banter, the three friends throwing names to each other, and laughing at the ridiculous ones they found in the books.

"Who would call their daughter _Hermione_, honestly..."

"I've always like the name 'Steele'...sounds powerful..."

"How about Iris?"

"No! No flowers!"

"Aurora... that's pretty, definitely put that on the maybes".

"Herbert! Herbert Potter _ha!_"

"Hazel...Hazel Potter...Hazel Lily Potter? James, I think I really like that one...like a lot. A lot, a lot".

"Vixie-Belle? Sounds like a stripp..."

"Vladimir..."

"NO!"

"You know what a really great name is? Sirius. Sirius is a really great name..."

"What about David, after your dad?"

"Taura"

"Jake"

"Elizabeth"

"Sirius"

"Ella"

"Cameron"

"Violet"

"Eamon"

"Renee"

"Sirius!"

Names began to swim in Lily's head, merging with each other and creating one big mess. She was just about to suggest they take a break, when James, suddenly serious said -

"Hey Lily... How about... How about Harry?"

"Harry?"

"Yeah...says here it means 'ruler'..."

"Harry"... mumbled Lily again, liking the way the name sat on her tongue. "Harry Potter".

There was a moment of silence in the room, as the sound of the name fell on their ears.

"Well I don't know about you guys" spoke up Sirius from the fireplace. "...But I just got goosebumps. Weird..."

Lily and James looked at each other, smiles dancing on both their lips.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think we just added our first name to the 'definitely' list", James said.

"I think you might be right" said Lily laughing, and rubbing her stomach as the baby kicked. "Looks like baby agrees too!"

"Harry Sirius Potter...Aah, what a name" Sirius exclaimed with bravado.

James prodded the fire with a poker.

"Oi!" Sirius laughed. "I'm practically a part of this marriage, so I should get a say in the name!"

"If you want a say in the name Sirius, that's fine," Lily said sweetly. "But that automatically gives you the responsibility of nappy duty too".

The Potters laughed as Sirius' face blanched.

"Oh, look at that, I think Moony just arrived. Gotta run!"

With a grin, and a small 'pop', Sirius was gone.

Still laughing to himself, James moved to the kitchen to start dinner, leaving Lily alone in the lounge room.

"Harry", she whispered softly, smiling and rubbing her stomach.

"Harry James Potter".

* * *

><p><strong>Remember, it only takes a second to review and make someone smile! :)<strong>


	9. Nightmare

The house that always seemed so much larger when he was gone, was silent.

The only sound accompanying Lily besides the shouting of her thoughts, was the steady ticking of the clock.

She was already curled up in bed. She hadn't been feeling well all day, but she couldn't tell whether it was a physical or emotional problem. They seemed to be merging together into one lately.

The blankets were wrapped tightly around her, but she couldn't get warm. Their bed seemed as cold as ice when it was only her in it.

She didn't know whether it was baby hormones making her feel this way...or whether it was something else...but lately, Lily had started to worry every time James stepped foot outside.

As soon as the door closed behind him, she longed for him to walk back through it and every heartbeat counted the seconds until she saw him again.

Working for The Order had always entailed risk, was always tainted with that feeling of unease whenever someone you loved had to work...but lately Lily felt like she couldn't breathe properly whenever James left.

She wanted him to stop, like Dumbledore said. She wanted him to stay at home with her and the baby, safe and happy in their own little world...but she couldn't bring herself to ask him.

Because she knew her husband. She understood his fighting spirit, his fearlessness (and sometimes recklessness), his warmth, his courage, and most importantly, she understood his desire to fight for the good things in the world.

She'd been a part of The Order too, before she got pregnant. She understood exactly how important the work was, understood the sense of responsibility it placed on your shoulders. She knew how it felt to watch friends die around you and have the power to do something about it.

But what she understood, and what she wanted, were two completely different things.

Still cold, and with an uneasy mind, Lily fell into a restless sleep...

* * *

><p><em>Confusion. Chaos. Mayhem. Terror. The feelings were tangible in the air.<em>

_Panic and horror gripped Lily's own heart in a vice like grasp._

_There were faceless bodies pressing up against her. The atmosphere was clammy and sticky, and the air was thick and choking. _

_She was fighting the hands and the arms that held her back, fighting at them to get to James._

_But she didn't know where James was, and the more she fought against the hands the more they pushed her further into their clutches._

_There were cries and screams and wailing until suddenly – there was dead, muffled silence._

_The muggy air turned to a stinging, icy cold in the space of a heartbeat._

_Lily could see her breath in the air as the bodies around her froze, making a pathway for her to step through._

_The silence pressed eerily against her, as she propelled herself forward through the maze of bodies, desperately seeking James._

"_Lily!" _

_That was him! She heard him!_

"_Lily, I'm over here!"_

"_I'm coming!" she yelled desperately, running through the maze of bodies._

"_Lils? This way", came his voice from her left, and so she turned and continued running._

"_No, this way!" said James' voice from behind her._

"_Try over here!" _

_The voice was to her right._

"_No, Lils, this way" said James' voice from ahead of her._

"_Lily help me" _

_That was definitely coming from the left. She started running that way when from behind her she heard ,_

"_Lily, here!"_

"_Lily come to me!"_

"_Lily save me!"_

"_Lily..."_

"_Lily..."_

_She was spinning in circles trying to reach him, dizzy, her stomach churned, her head spun._

_James' voice was changing from his warm familiar tones that sounded like home, to a quiet, menacing whisper, almost like the hiss of a snake._

"_That'sssss right Lily, you're close now, just a little further. I have Jamesssss and soon I'll have you too..." _

_The voice trailed off into the most terrifying laugh Lily had ever heard – a laugh that she recognised, a laugh that she'd heard three times before._

"_Come to me, Lily"._

_A pair of red eyes, glowing in the darkness._

"_Ssso close, ssso close"._

_White hands with skeletal fingers, reaching for her._

_Almost paralysed with fear, one thought was left in Lily's mind._

_The baby._

_Reaching down to her stomach protectively, Lily's heart skipped a beat when her hands did not come to rest on a swollen belly, but on flat, white skin._

"_No!" she gasped in horror. "No! What have you done to them? Where are they?"_

_The laughter continued, piercing her soul._

"_Where are they? James! James!"_

_Her world was spinning, red eyes seared into her vision._

"_He's got the baby! James, he's got the baby...help me, I need you..."  
><em>

* * *

><p>"James! Where are you? Help me find the baby, he's got the baby James..."<p>

"Shh, shhh Lils! It's ok, it's ok..."

"Help me James!"

"Lily, open your eyes, you're safe, it's ok..."

Lily's crazed emerald eyes flicked open and were met with James' concerned hazel ones.

She was sweaty, and breathing heavily, tears wetting her cheeks and her body was tangled up in the sheets.

"It was just a dream beautiful...just a dream".

"James?" she muttered weakly.

"I'm home Lils" he murmured into her hair, untangling her body from the blankets, and pulling her tightly against his chest.

"I'm here now, everything is ok".

He let her cry into his shoulder, murmuring against her hair, the sound of his steady heart against her ear soothing her own racing one.

He let her cry until the tears had run out, and then gently kissed them away from her chin, her cheeks, her eyelids.

"No more" she whispered, voice hoarse. "No more going away. No more risking your life. I need you. _We_ need you".

The empty stomach from her nightmare flashed before her eyes, and Lily immediately dropped her hand down...where she was met with a reassuring nudge from the treasure inside of her.

"No more...no more..."

She hardly knew what she was saying. She was so tired, and the nightmare still felt so vivid. The red eyes were still burning behind her eyelids.

James continued to hold his wife, feeling her warm breath against his neck, her heart beat matching his.

As he kissed the last tear from her eyes, he placed one hand gently on her stomach, and wrapped the other arm around her shoulders, carefully pulling her down so they were lying securely together on the bed.

James wanted to work, he wanted to help... but he couldn't bear to see her hurting this way, no matter what had caused it.

And so, as she drifted back into a much more pleasant slumber, safe in her husband's arms...so softly she wasn't even sure she heard it, Lily thought James whispered in her ear,

"No more. I'm home now...for good".

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you've enjoyed the latest instalment!<br>I'd love to hear what you thought, so press that post review button...c'mon... you know you want to ;)**


	10. Renovations

"No, no... more to the left..."

"Here?"

"Ahh...no. Back to the right a little..."

"Ok, _here_?"

"...No, that's not right either".

Lily stood in the door way of the semi-renovated bedroom, one hand resting on her bulging stomach, her head titled to the left, determined expression on her face.

"Just move it all the way back to the right side, I liked it there".

James and Sirius stood in the centre of the bedroom in amongst the sheets, half put together furniture, tins of paint and boxes. They were hardly distinguishable under the layer of cream pain that coated them.

"So you mean back to the spot where we had it in the very beginning?" James asked, exasperatedly amused.

"That would be the place" Lily said in an overly innocent voice.

Sirius groaned as he and James dragged the heavy chest of white drawers back to the opposite corner of the room.

"And to think, I gave up a hot date for _this_" he said, throwing his hands in the air in mock anger.

James laughed, and Lily shook her head in amusement.

"One day this will be you Padfoot, and who do you think is going to help you then?"

"With you lot stopping my dates, I'm never gunna get around to it!" Sirius laughed.

"Now that's a terrifying thought," piped up Remus from the floor of the other side of the room where he was meticulously painting wall borders. "A baby Prongs is bad enough; but a baby Padfoot? I don't think the world is quite ready for that yet".

"Oi!" James and Sirius said in unison, as Lily laughed.

"It's ok Prongs," said Remus with a grin. "With Lily as the other parent, your kids have at least half a chance of scoring some intelligence. No matter who Sirius ends up marrying though, his future children have no hope".

A paintbrush went flying across the room, narrowly missing Remus' head.

"If you lot keep this up, we won't be done until this baby is ready for its own babies!" Lily said.

"One;" said Sirius, moving to help James start assembling the cot. "...there is no _we _here. It is Prongs, Moony and myself –"

"Hey, I'm overseeing this operation", said Lily with a smirk as she settled into an armchair.

"Two;" Sirius continued, rolling his eyes. "The room would have been finished before the baby was even _conceived_ if you were letting us use magic!"

"For the hundredth time," Lily exclaimed. "I want this done _properly_, the way my parents did it for me, because it fills the room with love and – "

"..._makes it more special, and shows that we care_," James, Sirius and Remus chorused, identical smiles on all their faces.

"Exactly" said Lily, folding her arms, and sticking her tongue out playfully. "Oh and James, the change table has to be moved, it doesn't look symmetrical there".

"Lily, honey, I really don't think our baby is going to care about the _symmetry_ of its room!"

"Oh, I know" Lily replied, batting her eyelashes, "But I care".

"All bow to the master" Sirius whispered under his breath.

"Hey!" Lily snapped, getting up and making her way downstairs. "I heard that. Someone obviously doesn't want any cake then".

Sirius sat up suddenly, and Lily knew that if he was in dog form his ears would be pricked up and his tail wagging.

"What was that about cake?" he asked eagerly.

"You'll only find out if you play nice" Lily said with a smirk, as she disappeared behind the doorframe.

"Is it chocolate cake? It's chocolate isn't it?!" Sirius called to her retreating figure. "I was just kidding Lils, you're the best, you're the most competent overseer that ever there was and..."

Sirius was silenced by a rag in the face that mysteriously flew from somewhere in James' direction.

"She's gone!" said Sirius when he's spat the fluff out of his mouth. "Quick, let's just use magic to put the cot together before she comes back up!"

"I can't Padfoot you saw her face! It would mean a lot worse than 'no cake' for me!"

Sirius softly made the noise of a whip cracking under his breath, which earned him a flick with a paintbrush.

"A bit of hard work never hurt anyone Padfoot" said Remus.

"Speak for yourself" Sirius grimaced as he rubbed his leg where the paintbrush hit him.

"Speaking of hard work" Remus continued, stretching out his cramped body and brushing the sandy hair out of his eyes; "How's unemployment treating you Prongs?"

James sighed and put the (upside down) instruction booklet on the floor beside him in defeat, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

"Honestly? Horribly", He muttered dejectedly. "I hate the idea of not doing _anything_, and I'm completely bored too. When Lily suggested renovating the nursery without magic, I just about died of excitement, simply because it's something to _do_".

Sirius clapped his friend sympathetically on the shoulder.

"I even went to Dumbledore, to ask him for his opinion on maybe starting up the Auror course, or teaching Quidditch lessons...anything. But it turns out not only does he not want me to work for the Order, he doesn't want me doing _anything_ at all".

"But _why_?" asked Remus, shaking his head.

James sighed again.

"At first I thought he was just being overly cautious... But now...well now I feel like there's something he's not telling me. He suggested a secret keeper...again... and this time I'm seriously thinking about it".

Remus and Sirius looked at their friend in shock.

"But you were so against that idea!" Sirius exclaimed. "You said that it wasn't necessary! You think it's bad now, you know what a secret keeper would mean, don't you? Hardly any visitors, being even more housebound than you already are, essentially cut off from everything and..."

"I know" James muttered, head down. "I know all that, and it's not what _I_ want. But every day we get closer to having our baby, and every day I fall in love with it a little bit more. And if there is one thing I know, above anything else, is that I'll do _whatever_ it takes to keep my family safe".

The men sat in silence for a moment, until Remus spoke up.

"What does Lily think about all this?"

James looked at his friend.

"She doesn't know... well, she knows that Dumbledore is trying to keep us safe, but I haven't wanted to scare her. I'll tell her about it though, and soon. If she wants a secret keeper... then I'll agree to it, too".

"We'll support you with whatever you choose, James" said Remus, and Sirius nodded vigorously.

Before James could respond, they heard Lily calling as she climbed the stairs.

"I hope you boys are hungry!" she sang, and the men slapped hasty smiles onto their faces, doleful mood instantly vanishing.

"Chocolate!" whooped Sirius, as Lily came in with a plate laden high with slices of cake. "I knew it!"

Lily smiled happily as she handed it out.

"You're the best Lils!" Sirius proclaimed, voice muffled by the food in his mouth.

"Of course I am" said Lily with a wink. "Oh, and James, sweetheart... that's a wrench, not a screwdriver...

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you guys sooo much for the support with this!<br>I appreciate every single review so much!  
>I have a challenge: Think we can get to 30 reviews before the next chapter? I believe in you guys ;)<strong>


	11. Tender Moments

"Ok, James, you can stop laughing now..."

"I...I...I can't..."

"Honestly! I don't see what's so amusing!"

"Look Lily! Look at him, I was right! Dursley Junior!"

James brandished the immobile picture under her nose, eyes crinkled and mouth stretched in silent laughter.

"Lils...he looks like a piglet!"

Unable to stop herself, a small smile crept across her face.

"I guess you're right, there's definitely no trace of the Evans family there. Petunia will be thrilled..."

James looked down at the picture again as another laugh erupted out of him.

"Dudley. Dudley Dursley. What a name! What a face! Poor Petunia!"

"Poor Petunia?"

"I can't imagine it would have been easy for her bony body to get that small whale out!"

"Potter! You're talking to a woman whose only weeks away from pushing her own small boulder out, which may I add is your doing in the first place, so can we tone down the mockery please!"

"I'm...I'm sorry", James managed to choke out through attempts at reigning in his joviality.

"...But honestly...the resemblance to the baby and an enchanted marshmallow that I once saw at work is uncanny..."

James' laughter finally trailed off as he saw a shadow cross his wife's eyes.

"Lils?"

Lily dropped her head, light hearted mood from seconds before instantly extinguished.

James immediately bounded across the room and took her hand in his own.

"Lily, what is it? Is it the baby? Is something wrong...?"

"No, no everything's fine", Lily sniffled.

James caught the single tear that fell from her emerald eyes on his finger tip as he stroked her face.

"Everything is obviously not fine. I may be a dunce most of the time, but give me some credit" he said with a sad smile.

Lily sighed, and buried her head into her husband's shoulder.

"It's just...I never imagined things would turn out this way, you know?" she said, voice thick.

"When Tuney and I were little girls, we always used to talk about our lives, and how we'd have a joint wedding, and live right next door to each other, and wear matching sundresses, and how our children would be best friends. I'm not stupid; I know it was just child's talk, but never in a million years did I imagine that we'd be at the stage where I find out that my sister has had her baby via the _muggle_ newspaper! It's lucky that I still get one delivered out of habit, or I wouldn't have known at all! I'm the only family she has left!"

Lily looked up at James sadly.

"Do you think it's crazy that I feel this way?" she asked, so sincere it broke his heart.

James placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before answering.

"I think it's heartbreakingly lovely, quintessentially Lily Potter".

The shadow of a smile ghosted across her face.

"You know how much I wanted siblings, and how Sirius is the closest I've ever been to having one. Well, I know how gutted I'd be feeling if I couldn't share this all with him. It's natural...this is such a beautiful thing that we're experiencing Lils, of course you'd want to share it with your sister!"

"She obviously doesn't feel the same way!"

"She obviously doesn't know what she's missing".

With that, James leant down slightly, and kissed Lily gently on the lips.

He didn't move until he felt the tension slowly ebb from her body.

"Tell you what we're gunna do" he said, when they finally broke free, tucking a lock of fiery hair behind her ear.

"When our baby is born, we're gunna send the Dursley's their own official copy of the birth announcement, in one of those weird still pictures and everything, and we're going to show them just what they're missing out on!"

Lily managed a small laugh through her sniffles.

"And you never know Lils," James said, taking her hand again. "Maybe the baby will soften Petunia up a bit? Maybe she'll feel like reaching out to you once you have something in common again".

Lily smiled a real smile at James.

"When did you get so grown up and wise?"

James laughed.

"I think that's my wife's influence" he said with a wink.

"Now come on, oh lovely wife of mine, there's a bubble bath waiting to be had by you upstairs!"


	12. Footsteps

Lily heard the familiar creak of the front door.

_52 steps_

She could picture the way he'd run his fingers through his perpetually messy hair, the colour of the midnight sky he'd just emerged from.

She knew just how he's remove his coat, right arm first, then left.

She could visualise how he'd walk over to the hook, second from the left, and hang the jacket in the same position as always, where it would sit until he had to go out again.

She knew how he'd carefully pull the invisibility cloak out from inside his jumper, and hang it on the hook third from the right.

She could picture him pausing for a moment and stretching, the same way he did after every outing, back muscles rippling, arm muscles tense.

She heard his familiar footsteps padding across the floor, a soft groan resounding through the house as he stood on the bottom stair.

_45 steps_

Pad, pad, pad up the stairs...the occasional creak, the occasional groan of wood.

_27 steps_

He'd stopped, and gently opened the door to the nursery, taking a look inside. It made her heart swell to know how excited he was about the baby.

_19 steps_

She could hear him, his footsteps as familiar to her as the sound of his heartbeat.

_11 steps_

The door to the bedroom gently swung open, light spilling in through the cracks.

_5 steps_

She could hear his breathing, gentle, rhythmic, as his clothes landed softly on the floor.

_1 step_

The bed creaked as he settled his weight onto it, wrapping himself in the blankets

"You're home" she whispered, the smile obvious in her voice.

"Lily" he chastised with a laugh, kissing her forehead, and laying a hand on her stomach.

"What have I told you about waiting up for me?"

"And what have I told you about not being able to sleep until you're home with me?"

It had been James' first outing for a while. He'd gone to Order Headquarters, for a meeting with Dumbledore, and she hadn't been able to breathe properly from the moment he'd walked out the door.

"How did the meeting go?"

"Fine" he responded through a yawn. "Routine stuff, mostly. Was good to get out and see everyone again. They all send their love".

Lily nodded in acknowledgement.

"Sirius had had a bit to drink before we got there, ended up as a bit of story time around the fireplace, actually".

James laughed.

"Sirius finally revealed to Dumbledore how we got into so much mischief when we were there; told him about the invisibility cloak. Merlin was he interested in hearing about that bloody thing!"

Lily laughed too.

"I bet he was interested..."

The couple fell into a comfortable, familiar silence. Lily could see James' eyelids drooping.

Before sleep could completely claim him however, she muttered,

"James?"

"Mmm?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Do you...do you realise that our lives are about to totally change...any day now?"

Forcing his eyes to open, James looked at his wife.

"Yeah I've realised" he said, pulling Lily closer, and rubbing circles across her stomach. "We're ready Lils, I know we are".

Lily nodded, burying her head into his shoulder.

"Are you scared?" he asked, continuing to trace patters across her skin.

"Of the labour? A little," Lily admitted. "It's a pretty daunting prospect. I really can't wait to meet our baby though...but mostly, mostly I'm scared for after..."

"After?"

"After, like when we bring the baby home...and it's just the three of us, facing life together. What if I'm no good at being a mum, James?"

Her biggest fear finally voiced, Lily looked nervously at her husband awaiting an answer.

James propped himself up on one elbow, so he could see her better in the pale moonlight.

He pushed the hair off her face and kissed her gently on the forehead before responding.

"Lily, you're going to be an _incredible _mother".

"But what if..."

"No. I mean it. I can feel the love you have for that baby practically oozing out of you. There is no way you could ever stuff up something that you love so much. Our baby...our baby is going to have the most amazing mother in the world".

He lay back down, pulling her as close as he could.

She sighed contentedly, reassured and calm.

"I love you" James muttered into her hair as he drifted into a sleepy haze.

"I love _you_".

* * *

><p><strong>Just a bit of fluff, the real action starts soon! :D<strong>

**Thank you so much to all the followers and favouriters over the last chapter, I appreciate every single one!**

**Of course, I appreciate reviews too ;)**

**Also, just a note to the 'Guest' who reviewed asking if they can use my idea in their story... chuck me a PM and I'd be happy to discuss it with you! **

**Thanks again guys -xox-**


	13. Uncle Padfoot

"Honestly Sirius, I'm _having_ a baby, I don't need to be _babysat!" _

"I know, I know, but Prongs said..."

"...That he wants someone to be with me at all times '_just in case'_... I get it, I just feel useless!"

Lily sighed.

"Lils, you're about a millisecond away from exploding a baby. You can't stand up without help, you can hardly make it from room to room, and if reports are true, you're suffering from an exceptional case of baby brains. For all intents and purposes, you _are_ useless!"

"Gee _thanks_" Lily replied sarcastically.

"What?" Sirius shot her a grin. "I'm not being an ass, I'm being honest! You're pregnant; you're allowed to be useless! Don't think of this as being babysat...Think of it as practise!"

"Practise?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah, you're always comparing me to a child, so this is like... practise for when you've got a kid of your own to look after!"

A small laugh escaped Lily's lips, which was quickly replaced by a wounded expression as a strike of pain flashed across her abdomen.

She put a reassuring hand on her stomach, and took a deep breath, riding the pain out.

When she looked back up at Sirius, she burst out laughing.

His face was stricken, his hands somewhere between reaching for her, and reaching for his wand to send a patronus to James.

He looked like an owl in the wandlights.

"Relax, Padfoot, you look like you're the one about to go into labor! That was just Braxton Hicks, you know, fake contractions? I've been feeling them for a few days now, it's normal around this time of pregnancy".

"Are...are you sure?" he asked nervously.

Lily raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, I'm sure".

"Ok good!"

Lily laughed as she saw him visibly exhale in relief.

"I know that I'm here _in case_ you go into labour, but honestly, I'm not mentally prepared for that, so it would be really great if you could wait 'til Prongs gets home!"

Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'll do my best".

"Thanks, I appreciate it" he said with a cocky grin, patting her condescendingly on the head.

"Just know that if I could get up off this couch, you'd be paying for that".

Sirius laughed in his bark-like tone.

"Oh, I know, that's why I think I'll make the most of the situation while I can!"

"Don't you dar – " Lily's words were cut short as her face twisted into a grimace of pain.

"Lily?! Are you sure you don't want me to get Prongs back here?"

Lily breathed deeply, and as quickly as it had come, the pain dissipated.

She shook her head.

"And disrupt him from his _secret_ mission? Truly, Padfoot, I'm ok".

He didn't look convinced, but he tucked his wand back into his jeans pocket anyway, and positioned himself comfortably on the couch next to her.

"Can you give me any hints as to what he's doing today anyway? Why is it so important, and why did Remus have to go with him?"

Sirius gave her a wink, and mimed zipping up his mouth and throwing away the key.

"I shall remain forever silent, Marauders honour!" He said in a mocking tone of bravado.

Lily threw a cushion at him.

"Bad idea to upset the pregnant lady".

Sirius positioned his features into exaggerated fear.

"They've gone shopping, and he took Remus with him because Moony has some depth, while our dear Prongs is about as deep as a puddle...And if they ask, I'm telling them you forced the information out of me with brutal methods of torture!"

Lily almost choked.

"_Shopping? James?"_

Sirius laughed at her incredulous expression.

"...and why is it shopping that requires _depth?!"_

He shrugged teasingly.

Lily groaned in frustration.

"Fine, whatever, honour your marauders. Just know that I'll remember this when the time comes for nappy duties! Now help me up, I need chocolate, and broccoli!"

"_Chocolate and brocc_- never mind!" Sirius laughed when he saw the '_don't mess with me'_ look in her eyes, just like the way she'd always glared at them when they were at school.

Some things never changed.

"I'm going to be chivalrous and go and get them for you. Tell me, do you want the chocolate _on_ the broccoli, or separately?"

Oblivious to his teasing, she answered;

"No, its ok, I'll do it myself. I really need to have a walk around".

"Ruining my chance to do Godric Gryffindor proud here!"

Lily laughed.

"I could use a hand up at least?"

With much effort on both their parts, Lily got to her feet, looking disdainfully down at her swollen stomach.

"Let me tell you, I'll be happy when I'm carrying you in my arms instead of my belly, baby".

"Just no appearing into arms until dad gets home, ok Prongslet? Uncle Padfoot is a lot of marvellous things, however a midwife he is not" Sirius said, patting her stomach affectionately.

Again, Lily's laugh was swallowed by as gasp of pain.

She grabbed Sirius' arm for support, involuntary groaning as the pain continued to grow instead of fading.

Sirius grimaced as Lily's grip on his arm tightened - but then - she was standing upright again, arms cradling her stomach.

Sirius winced.

"Yeah, _I know_, Braxton Hicks, you're fine, you just want chocolate and broccoli..."

He began to move towards the kitchen, but stopped when he realised Lily hadn't shifted from the position he'd helped her into.

Slowly, she looked up at him, light shining from her emerald eyes.

"I don't think Prongslet wants to listen to Uncle Padfoot today" Lily murmured, a disbelieving smile growing on her face.

"...And I think that we may have no choice but to disrupt James' secret mission after all..."

Sirius' eyes widened in understanding, as his gaze travelled from Lily's glowing smile to the pool of water that had suddenly collected at her feet.

His mouth formed a perfect, comical 'O'.

"Oh. _Oh_...CRAP!"_  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Nearly there! :D<strong>_  
><em>

**Thank you so much to the great response for the last chapter!**

**Especially a huge thank you to xXxVioletSkyxXx for all her awesome reviews and amazing recommendation! **

**I just wanted to make a comment to La Boricua Cullen's review (thanks for all of them by the way! :D ) about Dumbledore telling the Potters about the prophecy: Personally, I don't envision him telling them...I mean, I just can't see him going up to the couple so excited about their baby and saying "hey, you know your kid who hasn't even been born yet? Well, he's got a 50-50 chance of being killed by Voldemort. Have a nice day" :P If the Potters had known, I think they would have acted a little differently... Like James wouldn't have complained about not being allowed out, and they would have had more security set up, more ways to protect Harry specifically. I think that Dumbledore would've tried to let them know in a way that wouldn't be so frightening to them, without actually coming out and saying it. But this, of course, is all just me hypothesising. **

**Sorry about the long author's note, it just got me thinking! :P**

**Keep the reviews coming, I love getting your opinions! -xxx-**


	14. This Is It

"You're doing great Lily, really great!"

"So you keep saying James, but don't you think if I was doing so great, we'd have a baby by now? _It's been eleven hours!"_

The assistant healer at the end of Lily's bed chuckled quietly as James slouched back into his chair.

"He's right, Mrs Potter, everything is travelling along really well. Remember it's a baby you've got in there, not a cake. You can't expect it to be ready in an hour!"

Lily's eyes turned thunderous, storm green.

"Easy for her to say, I don't see a wedding ring on her finger, bet she doesn't even have kids" Lily grumbled, as the overly cheerful woman left the room.

Just then, an involuntary gasp escaped her as another contraction racked through her exhausted body.

James jumped up, squeezing her hand tightly, rubbing her back, whispering into her ear. His heart felt tight looking at Lily's face, strained with agony.

He wished there was something he could do.

Breathing deeply, as the contraction faded, Lily's tired green eyes locked with James' hazel ones.

"Hey," she said quietly, reaching up and stroking his face.

"Don't look at me like that. Sure it hurts, but I'm strong enough to do this, for all three of us".

He caught her fingers as they traced the outline of his face and pressed them to his lips.

"Don't do that" he said with a sad smile.

"Do what?"

"Worry about me worrying about you! Worry about me at all! Just...just focus on yourself and our baby, okay?"

She smiled sleepily as she fell back into her pillows.

"It's crazy, isn't it? That this is our last day of just the two of us? When we leave this hospital, we're going to be different people to the ones who came in this morning. We're going to be parents".

"Definitely crazy" James said, pushing the sweaty hair out of her eyes so he could kiss her forehead.

"Crazily amazing".

* * *

><p>"We've been here<em> foreevvverrrrr<em>. Really. What are they doing in there, producing an army of Potters?"

Remus laughed at Sirius, who was draped across a flimsy plastic chair in the hospital waiting room, stacking rows of Styrofoam cups to see if he could beat his record from the last eighteen times he'd done it.

"They could be in there for another whole _day_, Padfoot. I'm afraid you're just going to have to be patient".

Sirius groaned and let his head fall backwards in exasperation, just as a huddle of female healers walked past on their way to a break.

Sirius immediately sat upright in his seat, pushing his shaggy dark hair from his face. He winked at the passing women, causing a few of them to giggle, and whisper to their friends.

"Well, I guess I can be patient if I _really_ have to be" Sirius said impishly, eyes following the healers down the corridor.

Remus snorted with laughter and turned his eyes back to his book.

He'd barely started reading again when he felt the tingle in his spine that could only mean he had eyes on him.

Flicking his gaze up to identify his observer, fearing as he always did that it was somebody who could recognise him for his true nature, Remus almost started out of his chair when his eyes locked with a pair of dark, twinkling ones barely a foot from his own.

A little girl stood directly in front of him, one arm clutching a battered dragon-teddy bear tightly, the other one nursed in a homemade sling. Her almost fluorescent turquoise hair was falling loosely from two haphazard braids.

'Did it hurt?" she asked bluntly, tilting her head to the side to examine his face better.

"Did..ah...did what hurt?" Remus asked, clearing his throat in confusion.

"That, duh!" she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, tracing in the air the path of the scar down his face.

"Oh, um, yes. It did. But it's ok now. Did that hurt?" he asked, gesturing to her supported arm.

She laughed, a happy, full sound.

"A bit! But I didn't even cry once!"

She puffed her chest out proudly.

Remus was spared a response by a chastising voice echoing down the corridor.

"Dora! For goodness sake, there you are! We've been looking everywhere!"

"Oh-oh" the girl whispered, biting her lip and looking around guilty at the man Remus assumed to be her father.

"I'm so sorry, has she been bothering you?"

He shook his head amusedly.

"Come with me kiddo, quickly! The healer is ready to see you!"

The man picked his daughter up under one arm and briskly marched off down the corridor.

Remus watched them go, smiling slightly when they bumped into a healer who grinned fondly and said;

"Hello Dora! Back again so soon? What's the damage this time?"

"We're relatively confident that it's another broken arm" her father responded in a tired tone.

"How was I supposed to know that you left your broom on the stairs?! Like Mummy says, you're always leaving your things around, I can't be expected to know when they're just going to pop up out of nowhere!" the girl piped up from her position tucked away under her father's arm.

"That's what your eyes are for Dora, I wish you'd learn to use them! We're spending more time here than at home these days!"

The healer laughed, and patted the girl's father sympathetically on the shoulder as they departed.

Just before they rounded the corner, Dora looked back at Remus, poking her tongue out at him mischievously as her hair turned from electric turquoise to bubblegum pink, before she disappeared out of sight.

Bemused at the little encounter, Remus looked back at Sirius, who was now lying across three chairs, traipsing his wand lazily through the air, leaving trails of multicoloured stars in its path.

Both men grimaced when they heard a wail of pain come from the direction of the Potter's room.

Sirius looked up to the clock, dropping his head down in disdain with an audible sigh when he realised how little time had passed since he'd last checked.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>"Fifteen hours James. <em>Fifteen".<em>

"I know Lils, I know, but you're doing amazingly. I'm so proud of you".

Lily groaned in frustration, her face red, eyes tired, hair sticky with sweat.

"We are in a _magic_ hospital. Surely, _surely_, there is some way to speed up the process?!"

"You know what the healer said, you even said it yourself. Childbirth is the most natural, pure process, and interfering with magic..."

"...could cause serious problems for the mother and baby"Lily finished in a childish, mocking tone. "_I know._ Don't interrupt me while I'm complaining!"

The healer in the room smiled sympathetically at James from behind Lily's head.

When she came around to his side of the bed to help reshape the pillows, she whispered in his ear;

"You're lucky, I've seen much worse. Just remember though, when she starts telling you that this is all your fault, don't use logic, _just agree_".

James helped Lily sit forward as the healer rearranged her bed.

"Your first baby, you must be so excited!" the woman chattered amiably. "Do you know what you're having?"

Lily collapsed back into the pillows and turned her tired eyes on James.

"We're keeping it a surprise, but we think it's a boy" she mumbled to the healer.

"We _thought_ it was a boy" James said with a tentative smile. "But now, with all this resistance I'm starting to think we have a girl on our hands. Stubborn, you see, just like her mother".

James barely avoided Lily's flailing fists, but was happy to see her lips turn up into the first semblance of a smile she'd shown for a few hours.

"Well," said the healer, finishing up her examination. "I don't think you're going to have to wonder for much longer. Mrs Potter, my guess is that you'll be ready to start pushing somewhere within the next hour".

"Really?!" exclaimed Lily, breathing out deeply in relief.

"Really" said the healer, smiling. "Your head healer is Healer Rene, right? I'm going to go and tell her to start getting ready now".

Lily's fatigued eyes suddenly shone with a new determination as they locked with her husband's.

She gripped his hand tightly, as James felt as strange sensation swoop over his body.

"This is it James".

_This is it._

* * *

><p><strong>So, what do you think?<strong>

**You're probably going to hate me for leaving it like this, but hey, what's a good story without some suspense? :P**

**Just to clear some things up to save people asking: Remus was 20 when Harry was born and Tonks was somewhere between 7 & 8, so there is a 13 year gap between the two of them (yes, this is canon guys :P ) **

**Also, I know that Sirius and Tonks are related, as Andromeda was Sirius' "favourite cousin", but in my story, Sirius has never met Tonks, or Ted. Once the war started, and he started working for The Order, I believe Sirius would've lost contact with his family, especially Andromeda who was considered a traitor to the Blacks. I'd say she would've been trying to stay low on the radar, and while she and Sirius never lost their friendly feelings, they did lose touch. Therefore, in my world, Sirius wouldn't have recognised Tonks or Ted, and vice versa.**

***Ends another long authors note with thank you message***

**The support I'm getting for this is incredible, so thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart! -xxx-**


	15. Welcome To The World

"Just breathe sweetheart, you're doing so, _so_ well".

Lily clutched James' hand like a lifeline. Sweat and tears streaked down her face, her body trembled with exhaustion, her responses were getting shorter and weaker.

She kept her eyes locked on his, and James' heart was constricted with anguish when he saw the only semi-conscious light behind them.

"J...James" she panted between pushes. " I don't think...I don't think I can..."

"No!" he said, gripping her hand tighter, as if he was trying to transfer some of his own strength into her frail body. "Don't say it. You _can_. I know you can, you know you can, our baby knows you can. Our baby is counting on you, Lils. You're so close".

She nodded, and James saw her retreat somewhere inside herself to find strength as the healer ordered her to push once again.

He counted with her as she focused every ounce of strength she had left into the baby – and still nothing.

Lily collapsed back into the pillows with a sob of frustration and exhaustion.

James saw the assistant healer lean down and whisper something to their head healer, Healer Rene, who looked back seriously at Lily, and then nodded.

James felt icy fear grip his insides as Healer Rene stood up and walked around so she was standing by Lily's head.

"Lily", she said calmly, leaning over so she could look into Lily's fatigued eyes. "You're doing brilliantly, and I know, I know you're exhausted, but you've just got to give a little more, ok? Your baby is going through this as well, and we're starting to get signs that he or she might be experiencing a little stress".

Lily looked fearfully at James, and then back to Healer Rene.

James cleared his throat.

"What does...what does that mean exactly?"

"It means that we have to get this baby out – sooner, rather than later...or things could start looking a bit more serious".

Terror shone through Lily's fatigue, and she gripped James' hand so tightly that he began to lose circulation in his fingers.

"No" she whispered fiercely, though James couldn't tell exactly who she was talking to. "_No!" _

Trying to slow down the pounding of his own heart so he could be brave for her, James took Lily's face in his hands and forced her to focus her faraway eyes onto his.

"Lily, you listen to me okay? You listen. You can do this. Our baby is going to be fine, and you're going to be fine. I believe in you Lils, you're a fighter, and any child of yours is going to be a fighter too. We're going to make it through this...we always make it through".

She nodded swiftly at him, and as the healer began to get her ready to push again, James saw something click in his wife's eyes.

Any traces of fatigue gone from her features, Lily focused her eyes onto something that only she could see. The grip in her hands matched the fierceness in her expression as Healer Rene ordered;

"Push, Lily. Push hard now!"

James felt like time had slowed down.

He heard every note in Lily's yells, felt every heart beat pound blood around his body, saw every tear of pain and sweat glisten on Lily's eyelashes.

He tasted the bitter flavour of fear in his mouth, counted the breaths of every person in the room, noticed every tick of the clock...

...And then he heard the short, sharp cries of a tiny voice taking its first breaths.

The room swam as dizziness took hold of his body.

He forgot how to breathe as Lily fell back against her bed, shaky hand against her face as an exulted smile began to grow on her lips.

His limbs began to tingle as the Healers at the foot of the bed smiled and laughed in joy.

His heart thudded in time with every tiny, but impossibly strong cry that echoed throughout the room.

As though he was watching the scene from somewhere above, James saw Healer Rene hand Lily the pink, squirming bundle.

"Congratulations Mr and Mrs Potter, you have a very healthy baby boy".

_...Healthy baby boy..._

And then Lily gripped his arm with a power that sent him crashing back into his body, and time balanced itself as Lily sobbed, clutching the tiny figure to her chest.

"He's so perfect" she whispered, tears flowing thick and fast. "Look James, look at him".

And suddenly, there in his arms was his son.

_His son. _

A mop of jet black hair sat messily atop his tiny head, his little red mouth wide as cries of uncertainty escaped him.

Suddenly aware that his own tears were dripping heavily down his face, James pressed one finger to his baby's tiny palm, and felt his heart swell when five little fingers wrapped themselves around his one, and suddenly, his son's eyes looked directly into his, and the uncertain cries whimpered to a stop.

"Hey little man" James whispered through a broken sob. "Welcome to the world".

Lily leant forward, and pressed her head against his forehead, as James circled his free arm around her back, and pulled her close so that the three of them were touching.

They stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity, laughing through sobs, crying through smiles, watching their son gaze sleepily at his new world.

The healers had to practically pry the baby from the proud parent's arms to take him to the nursery for compulsory checkups.

While they were gone, James helped Lily clean herself up, and hop comfortably into a clean bed.

The couple didn't say anything to each other; there were no words that could possibly sum up what they were feeling.

Instead, they didn't break eye contact or lose grip of the others hand, love, adoration and pure joy radiating from both of them.

When she was settled comfortably, James carefully climbed into the bed next to her, and pulled Lily close to his chest.

Not losing eye contact, Lily couldn't wipe the smile off her face, as a new round of tears started.

James gently kissed them from her cheeks, as her quiet, disbelieving laughter filled his heart.

"Can you believe this?" she whispered softly. "I've never felt so... _whole_ in my life. We made something _perfect_ James, something so pure and innocent belongs to _us_".

He shook his head with a smile, unable to form the right words.

They lay together for a while longer, until a healer walked quietly into the room, wheeling a cot with precious cargo.

"You have one special little boy on your hands" she said, handing the baby to an ecstatic Lily, who immediately drew him close to her chest, kissing his head softly and whispering quietly to him.

"He didn't even cry once during the check over".

"Of course" said James, looking at his wife and son embracing, and feeling fresh tears dance at the corner of his eyes.

"Of course he's special".

The healer smiled looking at the happy family.

"Have you got a name for this little hero yet?" she asked.

James looked up at Lily, who smiled warmly at him.

They hadn't _officially_ chosen a name when they'd walked into the hospital, but now, with their baby in their arms, a silent agreement settled on the pair.

"Harry" said Lily quietly, more to the baby than to the healer.

"His name is Harry. Harry James Potter".

* * *

><p><strong>This was really hard to write!<strong>

**I hope I did it justice for you guys, I just really wanted to try and convey the feelings of love and strength the family had.**

**As always, thank you so very much for your support, and I sincerely hope this chapter was worth the wait!**

**Please don't hesitate to let me know what you think!**

**-xxx-**


	16. And So It Begins

James stared in wonder at the tiny, blanketed baby that lay sleeping in his arms.

Before now, he hadn't had much experience with babies, and he'd worried...Worried that he wouldn't know how to hold him, or rock him, or get him to sleep.

Worried that somehow, he'd hurt his child.

But now, with his son nestled contentedly in the crook of his elbow and forearm, he wondered why he'd been so anxious.

Holding him, rocking him, simply being near him was the most natural thing in the world.

They'd only had Harry in their lives for a few hours, and already James was finding it hard to remember what it had been like without him.

_Harry._

A smile lit up his face every time he said the name.

From her bed, Lily watched James rocking Harry by the window, showing him the world outside, and she felt her heart sing.

She was utterly exhausted, her body protested in pain, her head ached, but she'd never felt so happy in her life.

She wasn't just Lily Potter anymore.

She was Harry's _mother._

Suddenly, her life held so much more meaning, so much more value.

And looking at her tiny baby in the arms of his father, it suddenly hit her.

It wasn't her life anymore...It was his.

From the moment Harry had opened his eyes and looked into her soul, Lily had sworn an unspoken promise from the core of her being to give everything she had to this little life.

It was the most wonderful thing she'd ever experienced.

Looking at James stare at Harry with wonder in his eyes, she knew he felt it too.

* * *

><p>"He's so <em>tiny<em>!"

"Padfoot, he's five hours old. I hate to break it to you, but he won't be up to playing Quidditch with you for a while now" Remus said from the foot of Lily's bed, not taking his eyes of the baby he cradled in his arms, a smile dancing on his scarred face.

"He won't be up to playing Quidditch for a _long _time! Years!" Lily piped up indignantly.

Three pairs of eyes turned to her, sparkling in amusement.

"What mummy doesn't know can't hurt her" James theatrically whispered to the sleeping bundle from his stance next to Remus.

The men laughed at Lily's furious look.

"Honestly though," Remus said, grin softening as he turned his eyes to Lily. "He's beautiful you two. Both of your parents would be so proud".

A fresh wave of tears threatened to spill over Lily's cheeks, as she patted Remus' free hand in gratitude.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to upset you..."

She laughed away his apologies.

"Don't mind me Moony, baby hormones! I'm like a leaky tap at the moment. I dropped his blanket before, and started bawling!"

James nodded in verification.

"Thank you though," Lily continued."You two... you're Harry's only other family... it means so much that you're here with us".

"And of course Wormtail too ..." James shot in.

"Oh yeah, Wormy was shattered that he couldn't be here, got chucked a double shift" explained Sirius from the doorway where he hovered.

James looked at his friend with a quizzical expression.

"Wha...that's what he told me! _Why are you looking at me like that_?!"

"Because..." James laughed. "...You haven't moved from that doorway for the last ten minutes! C'mon, it's your turn to have a hold!"

Sirius' face paled, and he took a step backwards, bumping hard into the doorframe.

"Oh, n..no, it's okay. Moony still wants a go...I'll just wait...some other time maybe..."

"Sirius Black" said Lily sardonically, as the two other men scoffed. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little tiny baby?"

"NO! It's just...what if he cries? Or what if I drop him! _He's so tiny!"_

James looked meaningfully at Lily, who gave an almost imperceptible nod, and then he walked over and clapped Sirius on the shoulder, drawing him into the room.

"C'mon mate, you'll be fine. If I can do it, you can. Besides...Harry wants to meet his godfather!"

It took a moment for the words to register.

Sirius' eyes grew wide as he looked from James, to Lily, and then back to James.

"I... you...he..._what?!_ Me?! Are you sure?!"

The others laughed loudly at the confounded expression on his face.

"Of course we're sure, you goose" Lily smiled. "You're the closest thing James has to a brother. It's only fitting".

"We've had our minds made up for ages" James continued.

Sirius looked wildly around the room, as if waiting for someone to cry 'just kidding!'

"But...but surely you'd want someone more...I dunno, _responsible_ and _mature?!_ What about Moony?!"

"I've already talked it over with Moony, and we all agree. We don't want _responsible_ and _mature_ Padfoot. We want...we want heart, and unwavering loyalty, and courage, and laughter and optimism. That's what we want for Harry... Not that you don't possess those qualities too Moony!" James added hastily, looking at his other friend apologetically.

Remus smiled, and shook his head in amusement.

"We've been in this together from the start, mate" James said to Sirius. "There isn't anybody that Lils and I want more... That is, of course, if you accept" he said, looking nervously at the stunned expression fixed on Sirius' face.

There was a moment of silence, and then;

"I'd be honoured, mate" Sirius's said, voice strangely thick and muffled through the bear hug he'd wrapped James in.

"Thank you, thank you both".

He kissed Lily on the top of the head.

"Well c'mon!" James said, unable to wipe the grin off his face. "Come and meet your godson!"

Gingerly, as if he was trying to hold a bubble, Sirius took Harry in his arms.

"Hey there little godson," he whispered, his voice obviously filled with emotion. "One day you're going to grow up to be big and handsome like your godfather, and I'm going to teach you how to break all the girls' hearts!"

There was a strangled, half choking sound from Lily's direction, and all eyes flickered to her in alarm.

She shook her head, hand pressed to her face as she continued her combination of laughter and sobbing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...It's just all so _perfect_" she wailed, and laughing, James went and wrapped her in a hug.

* * *

><p>The sun was setting slowly on Harry Potter's first day, shadows of indigo filtering in through Lily's hospital room window.<p>

With a little yawn, and a content smile on her face, she stirred into wakefulness from the first nap she'd managed to have since having Harry. Even though she'd had nowhere near enough sleep to recuperate her exhausted body, she couldn't stop herself smiling as she emerged from her pleasant dream, joyful in the fact that now, her real life was even more beautiful than the worlds in her slumber.

Turning her head to the left and fluttering her eyes open, she smiled at the sight of James watching her from his armchair, identical sleepy smile on his face.

"Hey there pretty" he murmured, his voice tired.

"Hey...where's Harry?"

James gestured to the cot that rested by the foot of the bed.

She could just make out the steady rise and fall of a tiny chest in sleep, and her smile continued to grow.

"How long was I out for?" she asked, moving over to allow James to slide into the bed next to her, as they wrapped themselves in each other's arms.

"About two hours...the healer brought Harry up about twenty minutes ago, so that he was here when you were ready to feed him. Said he hadn't cried once".

"Already got the healers wrapped around his little finger" Lily said with a tinkling laugh.

"Well, he is _my_ son, I don't know why you'd expect differently" said James with a wink, that was quickly disfigured as he yawned gigantically.

"Hey, did you manage to get any sleep" Lily asked softly, gently running her fingers down his face.

"I was too content watching the beautiful mother of my perfect son sleeping to think about sleep myself" he said with a little grin.

His eyes were beginning to droop slowly, when suddenly, they snapped open again.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

He rummaged around his pocket for a minute, finally pulling away his fist, wrapped tight around something.

He took Lily's hand and enclosed it around his own.

"I...I have something for you".

She looked at her husband, head tilted to the side.

"It's why I was out with Moony when you went into labour. I took him with me, because, well, he's better at this stuff than me. I hope you like it, Moony said you would. I wasn't sure when to give you it, but I figure now is a good a time as any and..."

"You're rambling" Lily said with a laugh.

"Right! Sorry! Okay, well...I just wanted to get you something to say I love you. And to say thank you".

"Thank you?"

"Thank you. Thank you for giving me...giving _us_ this beautiful gift".

Pulling his hand away from hers, Lily was left with a glistening silver chain in the palm of her hand.

"Oh James, its _beautiful_" she sighed, holding the dainty bracelet up for better inspection.

Vines of delicate silver were woven around each other, twinkling even in the dim violet light of the setting sun. Dangling from the end was a small, silver heart-shaped locket.

"Look at the back" he said. "I got Moony to get it done as soon as Harry was born..."

Etched onto the back of the heart were the initials 'H J P'.

Unable to form words, Lily watched James fasten the clip against her slender wrist, and then she looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears, _again._

"Thank you" was all that she could mumble.

He understood.

Taking her face in his hands, he whispered;

"_I love you", _and then kissed her gently and softly on the mouth.

Their kiss, warm and familiar, said more than any words could.

When they broke away, Lily sighed contentedly, and rest her head against his shoulder.

"I could just stay like this foreve..."

Her words were cut short by a soft grizzle from the end of the bed.

"Aha!" James laughed, scrambling to pull Harry closer.

"And so it begins!"

_And so it begins_, Lily thought to herself, as she reached for her wide eyed son.

_And I never want it to end._

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you like this addition.<strong>_  
><em>

**Thank you so much for the response to the last one, I poured my heart into it...and this one too, so I'm so glad you guys approved!**

**Keep the feedback coming, it's what gets me motivated :D**

**-xxx-**


	17. Welcome Home II

"...and this is the lounge room, Harry. See that corner? That's where we'll put the Christmas tree in a few months. Your first Christmas, and our first Christmas in this house...And there's the fireplace, that's how you'll visit Uncle Padfoot until you're old enough to apparate! When we're not visiting people, we can toast bread and things there..."

"Not until he's five at least! Maybe six! No, no seven! He's not going near fire until he's seven!"

"Let me introduce you to the _'worrier'_ side of mummy. When she's like this, the best thing to do is humour her buddy, or you don't get your dinner. Trust me, when she uses that threat, she's serious!"

"Hey! Don't be ridiculous!"

"..Oh, and look, here we have the _'indignant'_ mummy. There are subtle differences between _'angry', 'frustrated' _and _'indignant'_ mummy. Scariest of all is _'furious'_ mummy! Don't worry; you'll be able to pick up on the little distinctions fairly easily after some practice. You're learning so much today!"

Lily rolled her eyes at her husband.

Try as she might, she couldn't even feign anger.

They'd brought Harry home today, and she was too wrapped up in the joy of new motherhood to feel anything else.

"...and this is the staircase. The bottom step creaks, just so you know. It's going to make it easy for us to know when you're trying to sneak out!"

Lily cringed at the thought.

"...Which won't be for another twenty to thirty years, I'm sure" James tacked on hastily with a wink at Lily.

As they progressed through the rest of the house (James had been adamant that they give Harry the grand tour, despite Lily's insistence that Harry could hardly see two feet in front of him), she couldn't help but marvel at what her life had become; but more drastically, _who_ her husband had become.

She'd never doubted that James would be a fantastic father, but watching him with Harry she began to feel that she'd never really known the _real_ James until this moment.

There was no fear in the way he handled their son, tenderly switching him from arm to arm, tucking his tiny head under his chin and kissing his soft black hair gently. Harry fit perfectly into James' strong arms, and their interaction was so natural and instinctive that Lily knew James was _meant _to be a dad.

It was easy for everyone to forget how young they actually were; Lily sometimes wondered whether it was _possible _that she was honestly just twenty, that she'd finished school only three years ago.

She felt so much older.

So much had happened in those three years; war made everybody grow up quickly.

But it _had_ only been three years...three years since James was the immature, trouble-making, arrogant boy that Lily loved to hate.

Standing before her now was a man almost completely unrecognisable, and her hear swelled with pride when she thought about the person he'd become.

If someone had told her at Hogwarts that her children would grow up to be just like James Potter, she would have shuddered in repulsion. Now, she couldn't be more proud of the thought.

Completely oblivious to her inner musing, James continued to excitedly show Harry through the house.

"That's the ladder to the attic. All sorts of dangerous things lurk up there – exhibit A..." James gestured to the blur of yellow that streaked past his legs. "... mutated half tiger, half dragon creatures with the ability to take over the mind of unsuspecting, pretty red heads".

Lily scoffed.

"Cat, James. _Cat_...and I'm not under the control of anything thank you".

"This remains to be proven".

They strolled up the hallway, pausing at every door, every painting, every window so that James could explain something to Harry.

"You're probably wondering why there is a 'Droobles Best Blowing Gum' wrapper framed on our wall. Well, you see, that comes from a time in third year, when I asked your mum to hand me a piece. It was the first time we held hands. Naturally, I had to frame it to remember the occasion".

"Held hands?"

"...well_ I_ held your hand".

"For a good thirty seconds if I remember correctly, despite my attempts to pull away!"

"I have no apologies whatsoever for my third year self, Evans. A boy had to take would he could get!"

Lily smiled as her old nickname slipped back into conversation, something that happened sometimes when James was particularly happy.

"...and this, Harry, is mum and dad's room! This is where the _real _magic happens...No hitting, I've got the baby!" he grinned wickedly as Lily raised her hand ominously.

"James Potter, you are unbelievable!" she cried.

"I know". He continued to grin, eyes sparkling. "But you love me anyway. You haven't stopped smiling at me once over the last twenty-four hours, so I know it must be true".

He pulled her under his free arm and kissed her through her giggles.

"Ok, ok, ok" she laughed in defeat.

Smiling, the couple linked hands, as they turned to face Harry's door.

"This is it Lils, better hope he admires the _symmetry_ of his bedroom, or there'll be trouble", James said with a wink, as he pushed the door open.

Afternoon light was softly pouring through the window, illuminating the cream walls into shades of gold.

The delicate gold mobile featuring dangling snitches and brooms that was hanging above the cot rotated gently in the summer breeze that floated through the window.

The peaceful silence was broken only by the snuffling yawn that escaped Harry's mouth.

"I think that means he approves" James said, as Harry gazed up at them with sleepy eyes.

James smiled.

"I'm so glad he's got your eyes".

"Funny" Lily said with a grin. "I was just thinking I'm glad he looks so much like you! He's only three days old, but the resemblance is already uncanny!"

James couldn't disguise his grin.

"You won't be so happy when there are a hundred girls lined up at the door for him one day. Oh, the hardships of being so good looking!" He sighed dramatically, and then proceeded to laugh at the look on Lily's face.

"Sorry about the hair though, mate" he continued, running a finger over Harry's tuft of midnight black hair. "You're definitely not going to thank me for that one".

"Oh, I don't know" Lily said with a coy smile. "It has its benefits..." and she ran her fingers through James' hair, kissing him softly on the cheek, and then gently did the same to her son.

They both laughed as Harry grizzled.

"Would you look at that, I'm already embarrassing him".

"Nah, he's just hungry, and I think that makes three of us!" James said. "I suggest we start on one of the five hundred casseroles that people have sent us".

"As long as it's not one of Hagrid's, that sounds great to me!"

"No, no I think Hagrid's can go to mutant tiger-dragon. Who knows, maybe it'll finish him off, and we'll kill two birds with one stone, so to speak...kidding!" He grinned.

As Lily made to make her way downstairs, she glanced back at James, who had Harry cradled up against his shoulder.

He kissed him gently on the head, and Lily heard him whisper quietly;

"Welcome home , Harry".


	18. Sleep Deprivation

"_James_!"

"Yeah?"

"Harry's stopped feeding, and he's crying _again_! Do you think I'm doing it wrong? Does it look like I'm doing it wrong?!"

"I'm sure you're doing fine. He was eating before though, wasn't he? He's probably just not hungry anymore, Lils. The healer said not to force it, remember?"

"But if he's not hungry, why is he crying?! I changed him twenty minutes ago! Maybe I've wrapped him up wrong! Does this look right to you?!"

"It looks perfect Lily..."

"..Well then _why is he crying_?!"

James looked at the frantic expression in his wife's eyes, at her tousled hair and messed up clothing, so different to her usual calm and collected state, and had to bite his tongue to stop the laughter.

"That's what babies do, Lils, they cry. It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong" he said gently.

She looked away, and James wondered whether she'd even heard him.

Her eyes roamed over the room for a moment; from the pile of laundry waiting to be folded on the couch, to the half constructed play pen in the corner, to the un-open presents that lay strewn around the room, to the dirty bottles gathered up on the coffee table, and the remains of last nights dinner on the floor.

She seemed to be holding her breath for a moment, before -

"Look at the state of this place! We've been home for twenty four hours! How did it get like this already?! And Sirius wants to come over later, but just look at everything..."

"Padfoot doesn't care Lily. But I can floo him if you want, and tell him not to come till tomorrow, he won't mind!"

"That's not the point James!" she snapped. "If this is how things look after a day, how are they going to look after a week?! A month?!"

"Lils..."

"The healer said to try and get him into a routine as soon as possible, what if we're permanently messing that up already..."

"...Lily..."

" And he hasn't stopped crying for the last two hours! What if he's sick?! Should we take him back to St. Mungos?!"

"...Lily!"

"...What if he's not sick though, what if its just me?!"

"Evans..."

"...what if I just can't be a mother?! What if he never stops crying because he's not happy!"

" _Lily May Potter_!"

Lily's breath caught in her throat, and she looked up at her husband, wide eyes blinking slowly as if surprised to find him standing there. Dark circles rimmed her green eyes, and her body seemed to sag in exhaustion, as tears slowly gathered, threatening to spill over.

"Oh Lily", James sighed, hurrying over and pulling her close.

"James, I..."

"Shhh. It's ok, Lils, really. You're doing amazingly. Harry's not even crying, he's just grizzling, because he can" he said, gesturing to the squirming bundle in Lily's arms.

"This is what's going to happen" he continued, taking Harry from her.

"...I'm taking the baby, and then I'm going to take care of everything down here, while you go upstairs and _sleep_. You're exhausted Lily, you're not thinking clearly".

" That's not fair James!" she exclaimed. "You've had exactly the same amount of sleep as me, you were up with us all last night too!"

"I'm not the one who had a baby five days ago!" he said with an exasperated smile. "You need to sleep, Lily, or you're right, you won't make it through the month. No one is expecting you to be super-mum you know. That's what im here for".

"What, to be super-mum" she said in a muffled voice against James' shoulder.

"Ha ha" he rolled his eyes as he helped her stand up. "Shocking as it may be, I'm more than just a pretty face... Though a pretty face I certainly do have!"

Lily scoffed as she made her way upstairs, and James was relieved to see that the frantic look had disappeared from her eyes.

"Two hours" she mumbled as she slouched towards the bedroom. "Wake me up in two hours!"

And then she disappeared from sight, and James looked down at the whining baby in his arms.

"Looks like it's just you and me buddy!"

* * *

><p>Lily woke with a start, and lay still, trying to figure out what had pulled her so brutally from her dreams.<p>

It took a moment for her to shift off the fogginess of sleep before she realised...

Silence.

After almost two days of having the house filled with the sound of crashing dishes, cupboards opening and closing, feet running up and down stairs, the gentle crooning of voices and the incessant sound of a baby crying, the sudden silence that had settled over the Potter's was an unsettling occurrence.

Lily rolled over, and noticed that the dim orange light streaming through the window was much softer than the harsh daylight she'd fallen asleep to, at the same time as she noticed that she felt _great_, much better than two hours of sleep would allow.

Slightly nervous, she looked at the clock...and flew out of bed when she registered the time.

Six hours had passed since James had told her to go to sleep.

Not two.

_Six_.

Why hadn't he woken her? And why was the house so quiet?!

Almost running, Lily flew down the stairs and into the lounge room...and was stopped short by the sight that greeted her.

All the laundry that had been sitting on the couch had vanished, the play pen was fully constructed and stored neatly in the corner, while the presents had been piled carefully on the coffee table. No trace of dirty dishes could be found, and there was the faint, fresh scent of detergent drifting in from the kitchen that made Lily hopeful.

The house was spotless, but that was nothing compared to what Lily was seeing right in front of her.

Sprawled along the couch, with his hair sticking up in all directions, and his glasses askew against his face, was the sleeping form of her husband; and there, tucked up securely against his arm, was their peacefully dozing son.

Lily couldn't contain her smile when she noticed how Harry slept with one tiny hand resting on his forehead...exactly the same way as his father beside him.

She leant over and straightened James' glasses, kissing both her boys on the head before throwing a blanket over them, careful not to wake them. She took a step back, and felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

James was right, they could do this.

They could do this _together_.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm so sorry about the long wait... I've just started my final high school exams, so it's almost impossible to find time these days! I'm going to try and update as often as I can, but you might just have to have some patience with me in the meantime :) <strong>

**Again, thank you so much for my awesome reviews, and a HUGE thank you for helping this get to 10,000 views, that's a massive deal for me! I appreciate every single person who takes the time to check this out! **


	19. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

James looked up from the letter he was writing as his wife entered the lounge room.

"Harry?..."

"Is asleep!" Lily exhaled, dropping onto the couch next to him.

"Fifteen minutes!" James remarked, looking at his watch. "That has to be a new record! Dammit, you're winning!"

"Winning?" Lily questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! I was holding the record for settling him fastest at twenty-three minutes, but you've just totally over taken me!' he explained.

She laughed.

"I didn't know this was a competition. Maybe we're actually starting to settle him into a routine…"

"If by routine you mean this thing where he sleeps right throughout the day, and then wakes up _every_ hour and a half after the sun has set, then we've definitely got him into a routine".

He laughed as Lily wearily dropped her head into her hands. Putting his letter on the floor by his feet, he wriggled closer to her on the couch and put his arms around her.

"Seeing as the sun hasn't set yet, I'm guessing that leaves us with approximately two hours baby free…"

She giggled as James began to kiss her neck, but then squirmed out of his grasp.

"I can't!" she laughed, trying to escape her husband's grasping hands. "It hasn't been six weeks yet…"

It was James' turn to laugh as he managed to pull her down on the couch so they were lying next to each other.

"I know that you goose, that's not what I want" he said, kissing her hair. "I just want to snuggle for a little while."

Lily sighed contentedly and rested her head on James shoulder, shuffling closer to him as he pulled his arms tightly around her.

_'I could stay like this forever'_ she said to herself, as her thoughts started to become sleepy.

Suddenly James' words reappeared in her mind.

"_…leaves us with approximately two hours baby free…"_

"Erghh" she groaned unhappily, moving to untangle herself. "You're right, this is two hours we might not get again for a while….we have too much to do James" she said morosely, glancing at the laundry piling up again, the scattered baby toys, and the large pile of still unopened presents on the table.

The puppy dog eyes James shot her was almost enough to break her resolve…almost, but not quite.

"C'mon", she said, offering him a hand up, which he took dejectedly. "We'll do the fun thing today…"

"Fun?" James asked dubiously. "What could be more fun than snuggling your husband?"

"Opening baby presents, and writing thank-you notes?" Lily suggested with forced cheerfulness.

James groaned.

"Do we _have_ to?"

"Yes" Lily sighed. "Harry is almost three weeks old now, people will think we're rude for not thanking them. They're presents! You love presents!"

"Yeah, presents that are for me..."

"It won't be so bad. You open, I'll write".

"Yes boss" James muttered, as they seated themselves at the table. "This pile suddenly looks so much bigger….Do we really know this many people!?"

"We'll soon find out" said Lily, setting up her quill and parchment. "The sooner we start this, the sooner we're finished, and then maybe we can think about snuggling".

"Fine" James sighed half-heartedly, but Lily did see his eyes light up the tiniest bit as he began unwrapping the first present.

"Here we have jumpsuits in both the blue and green variety from the one and only Lydia Bones…oh and look, matching blankets from the Watford branch of the Abbott family…"

They settled into a pattern of unwrap, write, unwrap, write, the tedious repetition occasionally broken by a particularly amusing or significant gift.

"Merlin, a cheque for 1000 galleons from my great-great aunt Roberta, _"to be deposited into a saving account until Harry is of age"_… Didn't know my Christmas pranks had such an affect on her…"

"Oh look James, isn't that beautiful? Jocelyn Shaklebolt painted Harry a picture…Look at the little gnomes playing hide-and-seek in the garden, oh and was that a fairy that just flew past?..."

"This one's from your old muggle neighbour…What in Gryffindor's name is an '_Etch A Sketch_'?"

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed when they came across Remus' present. "Oh, that's so perfect…"

Nestled in the wrapping paper were four soft animals, a black dog, a grey wolf, a small rat and a proud stag.

James picked up the toys, large smile on his face. "These must be hand made, look at the details! The wolf has a tiny scar on it's face, the dog has the same markings as Sirius around it's ear…"

Lily was grinning…until a sudden thought struck her.

"James, just so we're clear now…There is no way you are going to be teaching Harry how to become an illegal animagus in his fifth year…._No way!"_ she repeated when he hastily wiped the guilty smile from his face.

Methodically, they continued to work their way through the pile, until, _slowly_ it became smaller.

"A bottle of Firewhiskey from my uncle Dorian?! Surely that's meant for us…"

"Give it here…See the label? It was bottled on the day Harry was born…we'll put that away until his seventeenth…_okay?_"

"Oh look _another_ blanket…"

"_The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ from Dumbledore. Ooh that looks like an original too, how special…"

"A toy dragon...Hagrid of course...Woah, watch out for the teeth!"

"_Floating orbs for your baby's bedroom_...how lovely..."

"Is this supposed to be some sort of hat?"

"I think it's a bib…Is that from Mrs Bagshot? She said she was knitting him something…"

_Finally_, they were left with only an unassuming package wrapped in plain brown paper.

"_The Chronicles of Narnia_… Never heard of them before." James remarked, as the wrapping fell away revealing a set of leather bound books. "Blimey, they're a decent size too, Harry won't be up to reading them for a while….unless, of course, he's been blessed with your brains…"

Lily felt herself pale, as a strange sensation settled in her stomach.

"_Who are they from?"_ she asked with a sharp intake of breath.

"Aaahh…" James rifled through the paper. "There doesn't appear to be a name…."

Of course there was no name. There didn't need to be a name. Lily knew exactly who the books were from.

Suddenly, her mind was reeling, sending her thoughts crashing back to the past...

* * *

><p><em>The sweltering heat of the summer's day continued to press down on to the lone figure in the playground, despite the oncoming sunset.<em>

_The shady Oak besides the river provided the coolest spot for miles, and that is why the young girl had chosen to make her home there for the day. _

_Brow furrowed in concentration as she studied the book in her hands, the girl seemed oblivious to the burning heat, fading light and symphony of insect noises that were emerging to welcome the night. _

_So engrossed in her book, she did not notice when another lone figure darted out from the laneway, and strode quickly over to her. _

_"The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Is that further reading for Transfiguration? Can I borrow it from you when you're done?"_

_Lily started violently as the voice jerked her out of her fantasy land. She glanced up in alarm at the figure clad in black standing before her, a smile growing on her face when she realised who it was._

_"Merlin, Sev, you frightened me!"_

_"Sorry" he muttered, sliding his back down the tree so he was positioned next to her in the grass._

_"I didn't think I was going to see you today" Lily remarked, marking her page and closing the book._

_"Couldn't find a chance to sneak out" he said by way of explanation. _

_Her green eyes filled with compassion, and Severus turned his own black ones towards the river so he didn't have to see it._

_"So can I borrow it?" he asked hurriedly to change the subject._

_"Borrow...oh the book! Well you can, but it's not a school book."_

_"What is it then?"_

_She bit her bottom lip, a blush creeping over her cheeks._

_"Lily?"_

_"You're going to make fun of me… oh alright, it's a muggle book. Part of a series…"_

_She held it out so he could read the blurb._

_"'…a great adventure in a land called Narnia…The wardrobe is magical too…' Really, Lily, this is a children's book…a muggle children's book no less!"_

_"I know!" she said defiantly, turning her chin up. "There's no law that says I can't read it!"_

_"We're about to start our third year at Hogwarts...Aren't you a bit old for books like this? Honestly, why you bother with this sort of rubbish, I don't know…" _

_She shot him an icy glare._

_"Because I want to. My father used to read them to Petunia and I at night, and the collection was all I wanted for my ninth birthday, alright? My father searched all of London for a copy of the original publication. They're special to me, I'll read them if I want to"._

_"But they're just nonsense! You'd be much better off reading something factual, or relevant…"_

_"What about imagination and creativity, Sev?"_

_"Overrated" he scoffed. _

_Lily shook her head slightly and sighed._

_"Oh Severus…"_

* * *

><p>Lily's memory shifted forward slightly.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The sweltering summer's day was almost an exact replica of the insignificant day of two years prior; however, the lone figure at the playground could not be more different.<em>

_Lily Evans sat in the same spot, almost unrecognisable from the girl she had been two years ago. No longer a child, Lily had come into herself over the years, and where young Lily had once sat there was now a beautiful young woman. _

_Silent tears streaked down her face, as she kept her eyes determinedly trained on the river, ignoring the crumpled, dirty objects at her feet. _

_So focused was she on her inner turmoil, that she did not notice a figure dart from the path and stride purposefully towards her. _

_"Lily!"_

_She started, but did not turn her head to see who had called her._

_"Severus" she acknowledged blandly. _

_"Have you seen the Daily Prophet toda….Lily? What's wrong?"_

_She roughly brushed the tears from her cheeks, still refusing to meet his eyes._

_"Nothing" she murmured. "Don't worry about it". _

_He knelt down beside her, looking at her quizzically, until he noticed the objects lying at her feet. Tentatively, as if afraid she might snap at him, Severus reached for one of the indistinguishable lumps, and examined it curiously._

_He studied it for a moment before comprehension lit up his features._

_"The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" he deciphered. "These are those muggle books you told me about once. What happened to them?"_

_Lily was silent for a moment, and Severus thought she would not respond when – _

_"PETUNIA! Petunia happened!" she cried, and then suddenly, a new wave of tears spilled over her rims, and she buried her face in her hands. _

_"What did she do this time?"_

_"This!" Lily said, gesturing to the crumpled, illegible books at her feet. "She knew. She KNEW how important these books were to me, she left the box they were in out in the rain one night. She said she had no idea what was in it, that she was just spring cleaning, but I know that's bullshi…"_

_"Is that it?" Severus asked confusedly._

_'What do you mean is that it?" She raised her head to look at him. _

_"They're just books Lily. Surely you can buy more?"_

_She stared at him in disbelief for a moment._

_"They were a gift from my father…Originals that were almost impossible to find over six years ago, what do you think my chances are now?!"_

_"I don't see what the big deal is, honestly. They're just silly children's stories"._

_Lily jumped to her feet as though she'd been burned._

_"I should have known!" She exclaimed, eyes stormy. "I should have known you wouldn't understand. There seems to be a lot of that going on lately!"_

_"What is that supposed to mean?!" Severus called, jumping to his feet too._

_"You know exactly what it means" she said, glaring at him. "You're changing Sev, and those new friends of yours…I don't like them. And you know why. I hear about what you get up to! It's not you Severus!"_

_It was his turn to glare._

_"I'm not the only one who's changing Lily. I saw you on the platform when we were leaving school, standing with those Marauders… Laughing, actually laughing at James Potter"._

_Some of the anger left Lily's eyes as they widened slightly in surprise._

_"What in Merlin's name do Potter and his mates have to do with this?!"_

_"Just that I'm not the only one guilty of making new friends!"_

_"Potter is not my friend! He told a funny joke, I laughed, arrest me why don't you! Surely it's so much worse than what you get up to with Avery and Mulciber on the weekends!"_

_The accusation stung, and Severus turned his eyes away from her._

_"I'm done here!" Lily exclaimed, picking up her things to leave._

_Severus watched her in silence for a moment before –_

_"No, Lily, wait please.."_

_Hands on her hips, she looked at him expectantly._

_"I didn't…I didn't mean…don't go!"_

_She shook her head slightly._

_"I need time to cool off a bit Sev. I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?"_

_He nodded stoically as she turned and began walking off._

_She'd just reached the end of her street when he called out;_

_"Lily? I'm… I'm sorry about your books"._

_She looked back fleetingly, shooting him a sad little smile in acknowledgment, before continuing her journey home._

* * *

><p>"Lily….<em>Evans<em>….Earth to Lily?"

Lily shook her head slightly, pulling herself out of the past.

"I…what?"

James looked at her curiously.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "Just tired. What were you saying?"

He held his curious gaze for a moment longer, before gesturing to the books in front of him,

"I said, how are supposed to send thank-you letters to an anonymous person?"

She took the heavy books from him, opening the cover of one.

The words '_original publication'_ jumped out at her, and her breath caught slightly.

"It doesn't…It doesn't matter I guess…" she mumbled.

"Are you _sure_ you're ok?" James asked, concern entering his tone. "You've gone very pale…"

She met her husband's eyes with a smile.

"Just tired, really" she said, trying to ignore her mixed emotions.

She put her writing equipment away, pulling herself together before turning back to him.

"Well Mr Potter, looks like we're done here…and you know what that means, don't you?"

She winked at him as he grinned.

"Snuggle time?"

"Snuggle time" she laughed.

The couple made their way back to the couch, and Lily had just rested her head against James' shoulder, and closed her eyes in contentment when;

"Was that…No…"

The soft sound of a grizzling baby quickly turned into a loud squawk.

Lily and James groaned at them same time.

"I believe it's your turn my dear husband", she said, poking him in the chest with her finger.

Sighing, but with a large smile on his face, James untangled himself from her, and kissed her on the forehead before making his way upstairs.

"There's no rest for the wicked!"

* * *

><p><strong>A long one for my standards!<br>****I hope you like it, especially the flashbacks, I was a bit unsure about them, but I decided to put them in because while I don't ship Snily, I still think their friendship was an important part of Lily's life.  
><strong>**Please review, and tell me what you thought!  
>-xxx-<strong>


	20. Smile!

"Did you see that? That was definitely a smile! He smiled at me!"

Sirius looked up from the baby resting in his arms, and grinned triumphantly to the room.

"Can you _smell_ that?" Remus laughed. "That was definitely gas, not a smile".

Sirius' face fell comically, as the audience laughed.

"You don't want to smile for Uncle Padfoot, do you Harry? You want to smile for Daddy!"

James cooed at his son from over his best friend's shoulder, contorting his face into expressions that had his wife choking back laughter from the other side of the room.

"You might not get him to smile, but you'll definitely give him nightmares with that ugly mug!" retorted Sirius, jabbing James in the rib with his elbow.

"I spoke to Alice Longbottom the other day..." Lily piped up. "...and her son, Neville? Well he was born at the same time as Harry, and apparently he's been smiling for weeks!"

She glanced at James.

"Are we doing something wrong?"

Both James and Sirius laughed, as they glanced at the baby cooing contentedly in his godfather's arms.

"C'mon, Lils" James said. "You know the Longbottoms! They're the happiest couple on earth, it's no wonder they have a smiley baby!"

"Exactly" echoed Sirius. "Besides, Harry's smart. He's probably just watching us thinking '_you idiots. You're not funny, therefore, I will not smile for you'._ I mean, have you seen his father?" He grinned, and jabbed James' ribs again, earning protests from the other man, which quickly erupted into a mock fight, both skilfully manoeuvring to avoid Harry.

Lily surveyed the laughing men in her kitchen with contentment, as a warm flood of tranquillity settled over her body.

Nestled safely in the cosy kitchen with the people she loved, the sound of laughter dancing in her ears, it was so easy for Lily to pretend, just for a moment, that there wasn't a war raging right outside their front doors.

Evidently, not all shared her calm thoughts.

"You're awfully quiet tonight, Wormtail", Remus said after a while. "Is everything alright?"

Lily's eyes flicked concernedly to the corner of the room where the mousy-featured man was slumped low in his chair.

"E-everything's fine, Moony", Peter muttered, starting violently when Remus addressed him.

"C'mon Wormy!" exclaimed Sirius. "We haven't seen you for weeks; surely you have some riveting stories to tell us about what you've been doing this whole time?"

Lily smiled sympathetically at her friend, as she noticed him pale under their glances.

"No! N-nothing exciting. Nothing at all. Just Order stuff, you know" he smiled weakly, before dropping his eyes to study his fingers.

The remaining Marauders raised their eyebrows at each other, silently questioning.

"Hey Wormy, I know what'll cheer you up! You haven't even held Harry yet...Here..."

James took his content son from Sirius' arms, and reached out to hand him to his friend when-

"NO!"

Peter scooted backwards abruptly, almost toppling out of his chair.

The inhabitants of the room fell silent in surprise.

Peter jumped up hurriedly, a blush spreading over his cheeks.

"I'm...I'm not good with children" he mumbled. 'Excuse me...bathroom".

With that, he rushed out of the room.

There was a moment of silence, broken by Sirius, who looked around confusedly and uttered;

"Well...That was strange, even for Wormtail's standards".

James nodded his agreement.

Remus sighed, and his eyes met Lily, who smiled sadly in unspoken agreement.

"He's scared, you know..."

James and Sirius looked at Remus as if he'd spoken another language.

"Scared?" Sirius repeated.

"Terrified", Remus said, looking at his friends, surprised that they hadn't figured it out. "This war...It's got him frightened out of his wits. He hates working for the Order, and when his shifts are over, he just goes home and locks himself in his house. It's why we haven't seen him for so long...I practically had to drag him to get him here tonight!"

James and Sirius looked at each other, taken aback.

"Everyone's scared...not everyone acts so..._jumpy _though" James countered.

"_We_ don't act so jumpy" Remus corrected. "This behaviour...it's more common than you'd think".

"It's always been hard for him", Lily remarked gently. " It's no secret...you three have always been better at school, better at magic, better at sports, better at...well...almost everything. I think he feels like you three have a chance, if it came to fighting Voldemort. He'd never feel that way about himself though. Wormtail feels defenceless when he's not around you three".

Remus nodded in agreement, while Sirius blinked slowly, and James looked stunned.

Before another word could be uttered, Peter reappeared in the room.

"I think...I think I might get going, I'm tired, I have work tomorrow. Thanks for dinner L-Lily..."

Before Lily could say anything, James jumped in, an idea forming rapidly before their eyes.

"Wait just a second Wormy... I was just thinking, with everything going on lately...well, we haven't had a chance to have much _fun_".

Something in James' tone made Sirius's face light up with glee.

Remus frowned slightly, also realising what was going on.

"But...but it's not full moon...I can't..."

"Sorry, Moony," said Sirius, his smile growing. "You're going to have to sit this one out..._ You_ on the other hand" he said, gesturing wildly to Peter. "You're coming with us".

Peter's eyes grew wide in fear as he saw Sirius rummaging around in his pockets for his wand, and James handing Harry over to Lily.

"N-no, I don't think this is such a good idea...it's not safe!"

"I second that motion!" Lily spluttered, glaring at her husband.

"We won't go far, Lils, promise!" James said, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead.

"Mark my words you won't! Stay in the yard, don't go out past the forest!"

Sirius began to protest, but a withering glare from the redheaded mother stopped him in his tracks.

"No going beyond the forest, got it" he said, eyeing her wand pocket warily.

The pair looked wickedly at Peter, who had walked himself into the corner.

"We can do this the easy way..." said James, looking at him pointedly.

"...Or the hard way," Sirius finished, toying with his wand.

Peter glanced at the two men, and let out an audible gulp, before his shoulders drooped in resignation.

"Ok fine, but I'm not going to be out for long, o-ok!?"

"Excellent," announced Sirius, smile lighting up his face.

"No transforming in the house!" Lily said, ushering the group out.

A smile began to play in her features, despite herself. Their joy was contagious.

The three men stood out in the cool night air, large smiles adorning James and Sirius' faces, while even Peter managed to look slightly less tense.

"On the count of three" said James, with a wink back at the group in the doorway.

"One...two..._three_!"

No matter how many times she saw it, Lily still marvelled as she watched her husband transform before her eyes, crooked grin and ruffled hair quickly replaced by antlers, and sleek dark fur.

Remus' face exhibited a similar expression to Lily's as he watched the stag and shaggy dog gallivant joyfully into the darkness, a rustle of grass at their feet the only indication of Peter's presence.

"I rarely get to see it from this perspective" he said. "It's pretty remarkable".

Lily was about to agree when a small, gurgling noise cut her off.

She looked at the black haired baby in her arms, and they slowly shifted her eyes back up to Remus' incredulously.

"Was that what I think it was..."

Just then, James' galloping form came bursting out of the darkness, rushing past them in a gush of air, as Sirius chased gleefully behind him, snapping at his hooves...and Lily heard the same gurgling again.

Her gaze snapped down to Harry who looked sleepily after his father, tiny lips turned up in a happy smile.

Remus laughed merrily beside her, pulling her out of her wondrous stare at her son's smile.

"Would you look at that..."

Lily laughed, and lifted her oblivious baby up in the air, kissing every part of him she could reach.

"You clever, clever boy Harry! You have such a beautiful smile! Smile for Mummy! You can do it again!"

Harry merely cooed softly, wrapping a fist in Lily's hair, as a saliva bubble was the only thing to escape his mouth.

Lily sighed in amusement as Remus continued to laugh.

"Just wait til James finds out what made him smile. He'll never return to human form again".

Lily groaned as she realised that this wasn't far from the truth at all.

"Oh Merlin..."

Remus patted her sympathetically on the back.

"It could be worse" he said with a grin. "At least James isn't the werewolf ..."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the massive wait guys! But I've finished all my exams now, so yaay! :P<br>****Hope this makes up for the time taken to update!  
>-xox-<strong>


	21. Halloween

The scent of roasting pumpkin drifted through the walls of the Potter house, gently ensconced within warm rooms, where fires cackled merrily, warding off the impending chill of winter.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, filtered by the oranges and reds of autumn leaves so that the light danced off surfaces in gentle shades of gold.

Lily worked diligently in the kitchen, her frame rigid with concentration. The sleeves of the beige knitted sweater she was wearing (because she thought it reflected to mood of the day) had been shoved up to her elbows in effort.

Her wand was pointed directly at the large pumpkin residing atop her kitchen table, her hand barely quivering as she intricately carved the shape of a face into the vegetable.

A muffled snigger from the doorway alerted her to the presence of her husband.

"Keep up the good work Lily, and I'm sure you'll have that pumpkin finished by _next _Halloween!"

She flicked her head around so quickly that her hair caught the sunlight, sending a fiery blaze of red light in James' direction.

He squinted back at her, whether a result of temporary blindness, or in fear of the icy glare emanating from her angry eyes, it was impossible to tell.

"It's harder than it looks, okay?" she huffed, shoving the hair from her face and turning around to the table so that her back was to James, shoulders hunched in determination.

"Apparently so" James countered impishly.

Despite his over confident exterior, he still took a step backwards when he saw his wife's wand hand twitch infinitesimally in his direction.

Deciding that it might be a bad idea to hex her husband, Lily turned her attention back to the pumpkin, and had almost carved a full two centimetres...when the silence was punctuated by an almost-but not quite silent enough- snort.

"Okay, that's it, let's see _you _do better!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and moving away from the table.

"Only if you promise not to hurt me afterwards..." He said as he drew his wand, an excited gleam dancing in his eyes.

"Hurt you? Why would I hurt... _Oh_".

Lily's sentence trailed off in astonishment as she watched James take the pumpkin she'd been working on for _hours_, and turn it into a fully fledged jack-o-lantern in about three seconds flat.

"...and there! Finished!"

With a final flick of his wand, a carved pair of rectangular glasses appeared over the jack-o-lanterns eyes.

"See? A James pumpkin!"

He looked up at Lily and grinned triumphantly when he saw her face.

Not taking his eyes off hers, he reached over and grabbed another pumpkin from the pile, flicking his wand quickly, mischievous grin planted firmly on his mouth.

After a moment, he turned the it around to reveal the pumpkin's obviously scowling face.

"Now we have a Lily pumpkin too!" He said with a wink.

"Hey!" remarked Lily, recovering the use of her voice.

Before she could protest about her grumpy lookalike, James had snatched up the smallest pumpkin.

With an over enthusiastic wave of his wand, he created a small face that was grinning cheerfully.

"...And here we have Harry pumpkin, too!"

He lined them up carefully in the table, and stood back to proudly admire his work.

"Behold.._.The Pumpkin Potters_".

There was a moment of silence in which Lily stared flabbergasted at her husband...before a smile lit up her face and a peal of laughter escaped her lips.

"At what point in our relationship were you going to tell me that you're a master pumpkin carver?" she inquired.

James just laughed, and picked up the vegetable family, carrying them outside.

"Just another one of my _many _talents" he called back over his shoulder.

She scoffed in amusement.

"Next year," she called to his retreating figure. "Next year I'll carve the best pumpkins you've ever seen in your life!"

"Oh is that so?" He questioned, turning back to meet her eye with a wink. "It's on Evans. It is _so_ on!"

* * *

><p>"Oh for goodness sake James, hurry up! We're going to be late!"<p>

An indistinguishable garble drifted down the stairs in answer.

"I asked you to dress him, not give him a full body makeover!"

Lily tapped her foot impatiently, as the clock hands moved further and further away from the time they had planned to leave.

She'd just planted her foot on the first stair, ready to march upstairs and drag the boys down herself, when James appeared on the landing, an unidentifiable lump under one arm, eyes glinting playfully.

"James..." Lily began slowly. "...Where is our son, and _why_ are you holding a small hippogriff?"

He descended the stairs quickly, and presented Lily with the small, squirming creature which grinned up at her, green eyes twinkling.

Incredulously, Lily reached for Harry and lifted him in the air.

"What...on...earth..."

Her three month old son wiggled in her grasp, almost unrecognisable in his very realistic costume.

Laughter bubbled in her throat, and she spun Harry around, listening in delight to his happy gurgles.

"Couldn't let our son spend his first Halloween without a costume, now could we?"

Lily just shook her head.

"...where?"

"Padfoot" he replied, by way of explanation.

Still grinning, Lily ushered them to the door.

"C'mon, we really are running late now".

James groaned as Lily opened the door, cold air rushing in and wrapping itself around the little family.

"Oh shush!" Lily said playfully, pulling Harry more securely to her chest as James locked the door with his wand.

"Mrs Bagshot is excited to have us! She knows we can't be out late with Harry, so we'll have an early dinner, and be home in no time!... Besides, I'm pretty sure she told me she was making treacle tart for dessert".

James' complaints were silenced immediately.

They trudged up their cobbled street, boots crunching on the stones.

Lily smiled fondly as they passed muggle children in various states of costume and sugar rush, sharing sympathetic looks with the parents who bustled after them.

"Feels just like yesterday that I was doing this" she said fondly, as two white sheet-ghosts ran by.

"I'd dress up as a witch every year..._every year_".

She laughed at the irony.

"It was a sign".

James grabbed her fingers to warm them in his own, and they continued hand in hand up the street.

"Have I mentioned you how lovely you're looking today, Lils?"

Her green eyes immediately locked with his hazel, hers burning with suspicion.

"...No..."

She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Really!" he continued. "Just seeing you out here in the Autumn air, with your hair complementing the colours of the leaves so well, and your eyes gleaming and..."

"What do you want?"

Lily came to a standstill and waited expectantly for her husband.

"Can't I just comment on how _beautiful _my wife is?" he said, feigning indignation.

"Sure you can. Now tell me what you want. You are _not _getting out of this dinner, for the hundredth time..."

" But all she does is waffle on and on and _on..._"

"James, you're coming!"

"No, wait, that's not it" he said, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh, so there _is _something?"

She placed her Harry-free hand on her hip.

James looked sheepishly at his feet.

"I...well...don't flip out, okay? But..._ I'mgoingoutwithSiriustonight_!"

"You're _**what**?"_

James could've sworn that the temperature lowered about ten degrees with the force of her icy stare.

"I'm...going out with Sirius...to The Order Headquarters...for a few drinks...tonight...After dinner, of course!" he added hastily.

There was a moment of freezing silence in which Lily glowered at her husband, and then she said simply, and eerily calmly;

"No".

"No? What do you mea..."

"Are you **_crazy_**?!" she shrieked, calm facade crumbling away, so loudly that a little zombie and his parents looked back in alarm.

"It's just for a few hours, Lils!"

She didn't seem to hear him.

"Evil dark wizard intent on killing wizards just like you? No worries, go to the most dangerous building in England for drinks, because I'm invincible _James Bloody Potter!"_

"To be fair, I'd say that Voldemort's headquarters are probably more dangerous than the Order's... Shutting up now..."

He stammered out under her furious gaze.

"What on earth makes you think this is a good idea!?" Lily demanded, turning on her heel and striding ferociously up the street.

James scurried up alongside her.

"Lily, it's been quiet for _weeks. _No attacks, no rumours...nothing".

"Oh, and you think Voldemort's just _given up_, do you? Don't be so naive! "

"Of course not!" He remarked, the volume of his voice increasing slightly. "Merlin Lily, I'm not stupid. He's lying low, planning something obviously...which means it's the perfect time for me to do this!"

"Perfect time to, what? Go out and risk your life!"

"I think you're overreacting!"

Lily spluttered disbelievingly.

"It's just _drinks _Lils" he said, his tone softening, becoming more pleading. "I haven't been out for...for weeks. It's driving me crazy. I need this".

Lily had come to a standstill again, and was surveying her beseeching husband, fire slowly fading from her emerald eyes. She pulled Harry up into her shoulder, and nuzzled her face into his hair to calm down.

When she looked back up at James, he was shocked to see tears glistening in the corners of her eyelids.

"It's just...so dangerous James. So scary, to think about something happening to you..."

He pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead.

"Nothing is going to happen to me Lils..._Nothing"._

He pulled at her hand and continued to lead her up the laneway, silence between them.

They'd just reached the gates of their destination, when Lily spoke up again, voice small.

"I really have a bad feeling about this, James!"

"Shhh" he whispered, gently prying a dozing Harry from her arms. "Let's not talk about this now".

He lead the way into Mrs Bagshot's house, suddenly much more eager than he had been ten minutes ago.

* * *

><p>"See, I told you it wouldn't be too bad!" Lily whispered happily, as she pushed her way into the dark landing of their house, careful not to wake the raven haired baby sleeping in her arms.<p>

"The costume was a great idea..." she whispered to James, waving her wand to turn on the lights, and shrugging gingerly out of her coat so that Harry stayed asleep.

"...she spent the first half of the night oohing and aahing over Harry, and only talked for the second half...and even I could appreciate how wonderful the treacle tart was..."

She looked up happily at her husband, smile slipping instantly from her face as she saw him hovering in the doorway, coat still firmly in place.

"C'mon, Lils, let's not fight about this again!" He said quickly, when he saw the fire igniting behind her eyes.

"You're really going? _Really?"  
><em>  
>He nodded.<p>

"I'm going, and it'll be fine, and I'll be home by midnight!"

"Eleven" said Lily immediately.

"Eleven forty-five?"

"Eleven".

"Eleven thirty?"

"Eleven".

Her expression didn't change.

"Eleven fiftee... Oh, alright. I'll be home by eleven!"

He stepped inside and kissed his sleeping son on the forehead.

"See ya later little man, you take good care of mummy while I'm gone, okay!"

"You could stay home and take care of me yourself!"

James ignored this, and pulled Lily into a hug, which she seriously considered resisting.

Once she found herself in his arms however, she felt the fight ebb out of her, and she leaned heavily against him.

"I have a bad feeling. Don't go" she whispered into his chest.

Instead of replying, he pressed his lips gently to hers.

"I'll see you in a few hours, okay? I love you".

He moved towards the door.

"Love you too" she whispered, and she found herself unconsciously pulling Harry closer.

There was a loud crack, and then, James was gone, leaving behind the last biting traces of the freezing night air.

* * *

><p><strong>So a seriously belated Merry Christmas and Happy ew Year to everyone! Hope it's been a great festive season for you all!<strong>

**Just in case anyone was wondering... Yes, I changed my pen name! I'm now IllusionaryEscapement, so say goodbye to Paralove :P**

**Basically, I just felt like a change, so there we go! Sorry for any confusion.**

**Hope you like the new chapter, let me know if you do... or even if you don't!**

**-xxx-**


	22. The Fallout

"I'm sorry".

"I don't care".

"I mean it, I..."

"Save it!"

"Lily, _please!_ Just listen to me..."

"No _you_ listen to _me_, James Potter!"

Lily whipped furiously around, and met James' eye for the first time since he'd arrived home. He recoiled back ashamedly from the anger that seemed to be radiating from her entire body.

"I told you, _I told you_ that I had a bad feeling!" She spat, her hands trembling with rage.

Looking at her front on, James noticed her frenzied appearance. It was obvious that she, like him, had been up all night. Her hair was escaping in handfuls from a sloppy bun, her jumper hung haphazardly from her shoulders, and her bloodshot eyes burned into his.

"Lily..." he attempted again, but was cut short by her yells which echoed through the quiet house.

"I. Begged. You." She cried, moving away from him. "I begged you not to go, pleaded, but you didn't listen..._and now look what's happened". _

James flinched slightly as her words tore through him.

There was a moment of silence, and Lily clutched the banister of the stairs for support before she spoke again.

"Dead," she whispered in stark contrast from the loud voice she'd been using moments before.

A shudder rippled through her body.

James moved to touch her arm, but she shoved his hand away.

"Gideon and Fabian Prewett...two of the bravest men we knew...two of our friends ...dead".

"We didn't expect it," James began quietly, when Lily dropped her head. "We don't know how they got in. We were all having a good time... Next second they were there...Five of them. They had the element of surprise, so we decided the best thing to do was run. We'd almost made it out when... Dolohov... He just appeared from nowhere. He had Fabian cornered, but Fabian shouted at us to keep running. We tried to stop Gideon...but he went back to save his brother... There was nothing we could do..."

James trailed off, his voice thick and heavy with emotion.

Silenced hung over the hallway again, until Lily muttered two words that James had not been expecting.

"I know".

He blinked up at her in surprise.

"I...what...how..."

Something in his unintelligible stuttering seemed to ignite the fire in Lily's core again, and her voice grew even louder so she could be heard over the chiming clock in the lounge room that was alerting them to the fact that it was five in the morning.

"_How?!_ The wireless! The wireless with incoming hourly reports and updates about the attack on Order Headquarters! The wireless that alerted me _five hours_ before I heard from you! That's _how!_"

Lily's breathing kicked up, and her volume continued to increase.

"They didn't release names. All I knew for five hours was that there had been an attack at Order Headquarters, with fatalities. For five hours I sat by the radio, waiting to hear the news that **_you _**were dead, James!"

Hot tears began to spill thick and fast from Lily's eyes, as her chest heaved with the effort to control her sobs.

"...and then I heard it was the Prewett brothers...and it was _terrible_... But I couldn't help feeling so relieved that it wasn't you! And then I felt terrible all over again for being so happy that somebody else had _died_... _AND I STILL HADN'T HEARD FROM YOU_!"

"Lils, I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry, but I had to go straight in and make a statement...and then we had to let Gideon and Fabian's families know and..."

"I understand all that!..." she snapped, wiping away tears that were instantly replaced by new ones. "...but you couldn't have found _one_ moment to send me an owl to say that you were ok!? To send me a patronus so that I'd know that I hadn't become a widow and that your _son_ wasn't _fatherless!" _

A sob finally broke through Lily's walls at this point, and James hung his head as guilt overcame him.

"I didn't think..."

She balked at his statement.

"Well, that much is obvious!" She remarked, glaring. "You're not seventeen anymore, James! We're not at Hogwarts where you can just sneak out to Hogsmeade with your mates for a drink when you get _bored!"_

Any response he had died in his throat as Harry's soft cries drifted down the stairs.

When it appeared that Lily was unable to do anything but shoot daggers at him with her eyes, James moved to retrieve the baby. She mirrored this however, and stepped in front of the staircase, blocking his path.

"_Now_ you want to think about looking after your son?" she sneered scathingly.

"C'mon Lils, that's not fair," James countered beseechingly.

"Going out when I pleaded with you to stay is not fair. Being attacked by Death Eaters is not fair. The Prewett family having to bury two of their loved ones is not fair. Not letting me know you were safe is not fair. It seems to be the general theme of the night, don't you think?"

Before he could respond, Lily turned abruptly on her heel, and began the climb upstairs.

"I'll look after Harry" she said without a backwards glance. "...and don't bother coming up to bed, either. There are blankets in the cupboard... you can use the couch".

And then she disappeared from sight, leaving James alone and melancholy in the silent hallway, as a single tear escaped from behind his glasses and dripped noiselessly to the ground.

* * *

><p>James groaned quietly as he woke, stretching to try and relieve his cramped muscles, the result of being bunched up on the couch for who knows how long.<p>

The sound of quiet breathing to his left forced his eyes to flicker open.

The first thing he noticed was the indigo light filtering through the lounge room window; the second was his wife curled up in the chair next to him, watching him with unreadable eyes.

"Hey" he croaked, voice thick with sleep. "What time is it?"

She hesitated for a moment, before she answered. He waited in anticipation for the angry onslaught, but it didn't come.

"Late..." she said softly.

James' stomach rumbled loudly.

"...around dinner time" she finished with a small smile.

"I slept all day!?" He asked, sitting up suddenly in alarm, and searching hurriedly around for his glasses.

"You were exhausted," Lily said, leaning over to hand him the spectacles in question.

James took them from her and shoved them on his face so he could see her more clearly, but her expression remained indecipherable.

Instead of leaning back when he'd taken his glasses, however, Lily stayed put, and tenderly ran her hand through his unruly dark hair. She pulled her fingers through the length of it, continuing down so that she gently traced the outline of his face with her fingertips.

His eyes fluttered closed under her soft touch, and stayed closed as he felt her lips press slowly to his.

He pulled her close, so that she was straddling his lap, and at last opened his eyes. He watched her questioningly, slightly afraid to see the anger from the early hours of the morning still festering away behind her emerald irises.

Instead of answering his questioning look, however, Lily only deepened the kiss.

She drew him to her, hands scrabbling against his chest, the back of his neck, in his hair. She breathed deeply, her legs wrapping around his waist in an iron grasp.

She gripped him so tightly that there was no space between their bodies.

They stayed like that for what seemed like a blissful eternity, before Lily drew back slowly.

Instead of breaking away, however, she simply dropped her head to his chest, and kept her arms wrapped tight around him, listening to the racing of his heart return slowly to its normal pace.

James stroked her hair gently, pressing kisses gingerly to the top of her head, afraid to shatter the unexpected peace.

Once their breathing had returned to normal, so quietly it was almost a whisper, Lily muttered;

"I'm sorry".

Her words took a moment to sink it.

James stared down at her in bewilderment.

"You're sorry?! _You _are sorry? What on earth...Lils, _I'm _ sorry, so sorry. I was the one who..."

"No," she hushed him. "Yes, you did the wrong thing... But you went through so much last night, and I shouldn't have reacted the way I did!"

She lifted her head so that she could meet his eye.

"Lils, it doesn't matter, truly..."

He kissed her lips softly.

She smiled at him sadly.

"Sirius called in, while you were sleeping. I wouldn't let him wake you".

James grimaced.

"You didn't give him the same serve you gave me, did you?"

Lily shrugged.

"I seriously considered it...He must've known though, or at least guessed when he spotted you sleeping on the couch. He started talking so quickly that I couldn't get a word in. Told me how I shouldn't be too hard on you, that it was nobody's fault...nobody could have known. Then he told me that he persuaded you to go, and that you were just about to leave when the Death Eaters arrived. He told me how you fought, how brave you were..."

"Are you sure that was _Padfoot_ you were talking to?"

James' eyes widened in disbelief.

Lily laughed her first real laugh of the day.

"He seemed determined to keep you out of trouble. I think he would've claimed he imperiused you to be there, if he thought I'd believe it".

James rolled his eyes.

"...anyway..." Lily continued. "I was a mess last night..."

"Understandably so! I was a right prat for not listening to you, or letting you know..."

"It's okay". Lily slipped her hand into his. "You're here, and you're safe...and that's what's important...Just don't do it again. _Ever"._

Her last word was punctuated by a pointed, threatening stare. James gulped.

"Promise".

"You know what this proves, don't you?"

He shook his head slowly, not liking the leading tone to her voice.

"It proves... Your wife _always_ knows best!"

He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah".

Suddenly, he flipped her over, amongst much giggling and protesting, so that she was lying on the couch, and then promptly proceeded to clamber on top of her, pinning her in place.

Lily's smile slipped slightly as she got a good look at his face, and she brushed the hair from his eyes, arching her neck up to kiss his jaw.

"Are you okay?"

James considered the question for a moment.

"It was horrible" he finally conceded. "Gideon and Fabian...I tried, there was nothing I could do...and telling their families..."

Lily saw the emotion well up in his eyes, and she snaked her arm up over his shoulder, rubbing his back reassuringly.

"I don't think I've ever been so scared," he admitted, once he was in control of his emotions again. "But not for me... For you. For Harry. What would you do if something happened to me? It was all I could think about. I just wanted to be home with you both..."

He dropped down from his position propped up on his elbows, so that his head was nestled against her shoulder.

"You're home now, don't think about the 'what ifs'" Lily crooned.

"That's not all though..." he said with a sigh. "Voldemort's been taking it slow, playing a secretive game. It looks like that streak is over. You can't get much more direct and obvious than attacking Order HQ. It's unsettling to think about what's next..."

"Harry's going to be sitting up by himself soon," Lily cut in.

James blinked in surprise at the sudden conversation turn.

"...Then he'll start crawling, and walking..." Lily continued. "We'll have to start properly baby-proofing the house. I can't wait till he starts talking. What do you think his first word will be? Our first Christmas is going to be here soon! Helping Harry open presents for the first time, can you imagine it? Gosh, his first birthday will be here before we know it and then..."

James stared at Lily, and she laughed at the bewildered look on his face.

"Not that I don't love hearing you talk about Harry..." James said haltingly. "I was just wondering what..."

"What's next," Lily answered simply.

"Wha.."

"You said 'it's unsettling to think about what's next'. _This_ is what's next. Watching your son achieve milestones, grow, making new memories..."

He grinned at the way she'd twisted his words.

"I know that it's impossible to pretend that there's not a war outside our front door," she said. "But a wise, rather attractive, slightly insane man once said to me '_We can live in constant fear as a shell of our former selves, or we can keep going. We can live, and laugh and keep making amazing memories. We still have life... we owe it to the people we've lost to keep going'_... I think he might've been right".

A slow smile spread across James' face.

"I said that to you, the day you told me you were pregnant, didn't I? I can't believe you remember!"

"Sometimes you spout good rubbish" she laughed. "Happens about once every ten years".

"Oi!" he scoffed, rolling over, and pulling Lily with him so that now she was resting on his chest. "...and what do you mean _rather_ attractive!? My looks are Greek-God-Esque!"

It was Lily's turn to scoff. She laughed as she tried to disentangle herself from his limbs, pulling herself upright.

"C'mon" she said, holding out her hand. 'Let's go see if that son of ours is awake".

James took her hand, but instead of following her, he snatched her close, enveloping her in his arms.

"I love you" he whispered against her ear, brushing the side of her cheek with his lips.

She beamed up at him.

"I love you, too".

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

She considered this for a moment.

"If the bathroom is clean and the laundry folded by the time I'm done with dinner... Then maybe".

"You drive a hard bargain!"

"Could be worse," Lily said, tugging him upstairs. "At least I'll let you into bed tonight".

She winked back at him as they started climbing the stairs.

"Oh really," said James mischievously. "Maybe I should get into trouble more often then..."

He ducked as her fist swung in his general direction.

"Kidding, kidding" he laughed. "I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah".

She grinned impishly back at him, but gripped his hand tighter as they entered Harry's room, where they were greeted with the gummy smiles and sparkling green eyes of their happy baby boy.

* * *

><p><strong>I've been planning this chapter for a while; I figured Lily and James had to have some trouble on paradise sooner rather than later.<strong>

**Hope you liked it! (Or didn't hate it at least)**

**Also, if there are any Teddy/Victoire shippers out there, you should totally check out my oneshot, 'Decidedly Indecisive' ;)**

**Remember to let me know what you thought!**

**-xxx-**


	23. Dinner Invitations

"Dumbledore is coming for dinner!"

James' sudden announcement sent a jolt of electricity across the sleepy breakfast table.

Lily started, porridge laden spoon freezing over her lap, halfway between the bowl and the mouth of the hungry baby on her knee.

"Did you just say '_Dumbledore _is coming for dinner'?!" she asked, disbelieving.

"Yep!"

James shook out the parchment he'd just pulled from the foot of a tawny barn owl and recited;

"_'...commend you on your actions last week at Order Headquarters..._yada-yada-yada..._come to my attention that it has been far too long since I've seen your wonderful family...much obliged if I could pay a visit, of both business and social matters...if convenient, this very evening..._This evening! Blimey!"

Lily snatched the parchment from her husband and studied the page, as if her eyes were deceiving her.

A few droplets of porridge fell from the spoon she held, landing in her lap without notice.

Harry squirmed impatiently.

"What on earth..."

She handed the letter incredulously back to her husband.

"Since when does Dumbledore make house calls?" James asked.

"Never..."

A strained look crossed Lily's face.

"_Business and social matters'_... what sort of business is he talking about?"

James shrugged, and read over the letter again.

"...He doesn't say... I guess we'll find out sooner rather than later though, won't we?"

Lily nodded sagely, before the strained look stole across her features once more.

"Dumbledore. Dinner. Tonight. What in Merlin's name am I going to cook!?"

Still oblivious to the spoon, Lily threw her hands up in the air, causing the porridge to flick off and land in a big glob on the front of Harry's jumpsuit.

He giggled happily, and scooped the mess up into his mouth, smearing is across his face as he did so.

James was saved the trouble of answering by a loud '_whoosh'_ in the fireplace, and the flames turned from red to emerald as the shape of a man clambered ungracefully out.

"Knock knock" said the newcomer with a smirk, dusting the soot out of his shaggy hair.

"Morning, Padfoot" James said, eyes still glued to the letter as if trying to decipher a hidden meaning.

"Prongs," said Sirius, inclining his head in greeting. "Prongslet...Mrs. Prongs".

"You'll be cleaning that up" Lily said, gesturing to the ash on the mantle by way of welcome.

Still grinning, Sirius threw himself unceremoniously into a chair.

"Excellent, didn't have time to eat!" he said, helping himself to a big ladle of the steaming vat of oats.

"Sure, help yourself," James scoffed, whacking Sirius across the arm with a rolled up newspaper.

Sirius swallowed audibly, and turned his attention to Lily.

"So, Evans," he said, with a roguish glint in his eyes. "What's for dinner?"

Lily's eyebrows creased in confusion.

"Personally, I could go a good roast chicken tonight..." Sirius continued. "...Or maybe a good stew. I think Dumbledore would be a stew kind of man, don't you? And then of course, treacle tart for desert because we all know Prongs wouldn't let you make anything else..."

"Padfoot, what do you know?" James demanded, whacking Sirius with the paper again.

"Somebody is violent today, geez, in front of the baby and everything!" he said, melodramatically.

"Sirius. What do you know about tonight?" Lily insisted.

Sirius stared at her for a moment, as if weighing up the risk of continued foolery. Something in her eyes must have dissuaded him however, because with a resigned sigh he said;

"Not much. Got an owl from Dumby this morning '_requesting'_ that I join him at the Potter's for dinner. Actually, I figured you two must've invited him for some reason, which is why I'm here, to find out".

The crease between Lily's eyebrows deepened.

"Who invites himself, and then others over to somebody else's place for tea?" She asked indignantly.

"Dumbledore," said James, and his careless shrug indicate that was the only explanation he needed.

" Besides," said Sirius, voice muffled by another huge mouthful of porridge. "It's just me. I'm round for dinner every second night anyway!"

"...and breakfast, and lunch, and all meals in between..." James snickered.

"What can I say, you married a wonderful cook!"

"That's beside the point" Lily said huffily, ignoring the banter. "... How do we know it's just you? He could've invited the entire Order!"

James could see that she was getting flustered, so he laid his hand over hers to calm her.

"Lils," he said, guessing the real source of her anxiety. "I'm sure it's nothing bad. I bet he probably just wants to talk about what happened last week, tell me off for being reckless, or something like that".

"Why does he have to come around to dinner for that, though?"

"It's Dumbledore" provided Sirius with a nonchalant shrug. "Why does he do anything? Because he can".

In the midst of the adult conversation, all eyes had been diverted from Harry. After squirming and protesting for a while, the raven haired baby had apparently decided the only way he was going to be fed was if he did it himself.

Having mastered the art of sitting up alone just days prior, his approach was wobbly as he precariously leaned forward to grab the bowl of food that was just out of reach.

After a few futile attempts, his chubby little fist had finally latched onto the side of the dish, pulling it down into his clutches and spilling its entire contents over his front in the process.

Unperturbed by the mess he now found himself in, Harry had happily occupied himself with shovelling handfuls of the moosh into his mouth, amidst finger painting his mother's dressing gown and wearing the bowl as a hat.

It was Sirius who first noticed what his godson was up to.

Choking on his own breakfast through laughter, all he could do was gesture to the infant, who now sat grinning proudly in his mother's lap.

There was a moment of silence as Lily and James glanced down at their son, then back up at each other, before hearty laughter filled the corners of the small kitchen.

"A man after my own heart" said Sirius through chortles, as James clutched his stomach in amusement, and Lily's face kept splitting into a luminous smile, despite her best efforts to convey displeasure to Harry.

"We...really...shouldn't encourage this...type of behaviour" coughed James through his laughs.

This just set Lily and Sirius off again.

"Where do you think he gets '_this type of behaviour' _from?" She snorted.

James grinned guiltily as he reached for Harry.

"C'mon little guy, let's get you cleaned up!"

Harry giggled happily as James kissed his porridge covered face.

"...And when you're done getting cleaned up, come back down to Uncle Padfoot, so he can teach you how to make the mess, and _not _get caught next time!"

Lily shook her head bemusedly.

"Here I was thinking I'd have _years_ before I had to worry about you lot making him a Marauder version 2.0!"

Sirius patted her shoulder with gusto.

"Aah Evans, so naive. You don't _make_ a Marauder; Marauders are _born!_ ...And just to be on the safe side; I'd go with roast chicken tonight, rather than stew; Much easier to get out of hair!_" _


	24. Prophecy

The lounge room was silent, save for the tick of a clock that seemed to be beating in time with Lily's heart.

The fire had simmered out a while ago. No one had noticed.

James shuddered, but it wasn't from the cold.

His movement attracted Lily's stricken gaze. Her wide eyes locked onto him, in them a silent plea – to tell her this was a dream, tell her there had been some kind of mistake, tell her everything was going to be alright.

James had never been good at lying to his wife. It was all he could do to shuffle closer to her on the couch, wrap his trembling arm around her trembling shoulder and continue to sit there in silence as the clock ticked away the remainder of their evening.

_Neither can live while the other survives._

Dumbledore's words seemed to echo around the dark house, even hours after his departure.

After minutes, or perhaps it was hours, Lily turned to James and in a thick voice completely unlike her own said,

"This can't be happening".

Taking a shaky breath, James faced her.

"Maybe… maybe it isn't . Dumbledore could have made a mistake. Since when did he believe in fucking divination anyway?"

Lily flinched at his terse answer, but didn't respond. She didn't need to. They both knew Dumbledore had been telling the truth.

Another moment passed.

"God, I knew something awful was going to happen. I just had a feeling that this war was going to barge in through our front door and take a seat at our table. I never, ever, imagined that it would involve Ha…"

Lily's sentence was cut short as a sob escaped up through her throat. James tightened his grip around her frame.

"Nothing is going to happen to our son, Lily. Do you hear me? _Nothing._ I will do whatever in hell it takes to keep my family safe".

A creak of the bottom stairs at that moment signified Sirius' reappearance in the room. After Dumbledore had left a shell-shocked Lily and James, he'd gone up to watch Harry, giving the couple some time. His face was as ashen and drawn now as it had been hours ago.

"He's sound asleep" Sirius murmured, hovering uncertainly in the doorway.

James nodded acknowledgement.

"I'll make us some tea, shall I?" Sirius offered after another prolonged silence.

He promptly disappeared into the kitchen without waiting for a response.

His chest ached with the weight of what his friends were going through. In the kitchen, he waved his wand haphazardly, barely aware of what he was doing. He knew how to handle reckless James, could calm down angry James, laughed along with happy Jame, but he'd never seen his friend so defeated before and it terrified him.

He threw himself into a dining chair as the pot boiled, shaggy head in hands.

That was how Lily found him a while later when she forced herself into the kitchen.

"Padfoot?"

At the sound of her tentative voice, Sirius' head shot up.

"Lils. Are you okay, can I get you anything, Prongs…"

" I just came in to see what happened to the tea".

"Shit".

Sirius jumped leapt over to the pot which had boiled dry. He jerked his wand sharply to extinguish the steam.

"Dammit, I'm so sorry Lils, here, let me make you another one straight away…"

His flailing limbs knocked a teacup off the bench, sending it flying towards the floor. Lily save it with a quick flick of her wand.

"Padfoot, it's okay…."

"Fuck Lily, no it isn't! The prophecy…Harry… You and Prongs. And here I am just being a useless git. Why the hell did Dumbledore have me over here, I'm just making things worse…."

Lily silenced him with a reassuring squeeze of his arm.

"Dumbledore knew someone would need to take care of Harry while his parents had an emotional breakdown".

She smiled ruefully and moved to continue making the tea.

Sirius stood at the bench, feeling utterly lost.

"This has to be a bad dream".

Lily's silence was his only response.

When the tea was made, the pair joined James in the lounge room, Sirius reigniting the fire with a jab of his wand. James didn't look up to acknowledge the tea placed in front of him.

Sirius, never totally comfortable in emotional situations, could barely stand the tension.

"Prongs… you'll be okay mate. Harry… he'll have the best protection around and – "

" – you'll be our secret keeper, won't you?"

Sirius was taken aback by the sudden subject change.

"I… huh. I mean, yeah of course! It's just, didn't Dumbledore offer? Wouldn't you prefer him?"

James responded with a contemptuous cough.

"All we've had from Dumbledore these last months is secrets and half-truths. Suddenly he invites himself 'round for dinner to let us know that our infant son is in mortal danger from the most evil wizard in the world. Oh, and guess what, he's actually known for months. We could have been more prepared, but no, as per usual everyone is expected to operate on Dumbledore's own personal agenda. Not this time. Christ."

Lily stared at her husband with wide eyes. Sirius, however, seemed reassured by James' anger.

"Course mate. I'd be honoured. I'll do anything I can to help you out, same with Moony and Wormtail. We're here for you, you know that."

The men locked eyes for a moment and James seemed to draw strength from his shaggy haired friend. Watching this, Lily realised the real reason Dumbledore had wanted Sirius here. He'd know exactly what James would need to get through.

Instead of this reassuring Lily however, it drove another shard of freezing fear into her heart. If Dumbledore was so right in this instance, that made him more likely to be right about the prophecy too.

Unable to bear it any longer, Lily abruptly excused herself to check on Harry, leaving the men to their conversation that had now turned to logistics.

Upon seeing her tiny, sleeping baby in his cot, Lily wanted to break down all over again. The thought of him being in danger made her want to throw up. She pulled his blue blanket gently up, wishing that with this simple act she could protect him from everything.

Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, Lily was consumed with an overwhelming rage. Her entire body tensed as her thoughts moved to Voldemort. There wasn't a sliver of fear in her, just an all-powerful instinct to destroy the thing that wanted to harm her child. Without even realising it, her sweaty hand was gripping her wand so tightly that it left an imprint on her skin.

He wasn't going to get away with this. Lily Potter was not going to let him.

Voldemort would not have the chance to get near her son. She was going to kill him - now.

As if he could sense her rage, Harry shifted, green eyes fluttering open to meet their pair.

Upon spotting his mother at the base of the cot, the raven haired baby produced a sleepy smile, chubby fists reaching for her embrace.

Just like that, Lily's wrath evaporated, leaving her weak and dizzy. She scooped up Harry into her arms and collapsed into the rocking chair, pulling her baby close to her heart.

When James found them both asleep like that an hour later, he couldn't bear to separate them. Instead, he tenderly scooped Lily up into his arms and carried his wife and son to bed.

_'I'll protect them'_ James thought fiercely as he climbed in next to his family.

_'There is nothing in earth that can break this family apart'._


End file.
